Normal Is Overrated
by FLUFF-N-UTTER-1
Summary: In a world without Abby, friends and family gather to show their support for Connor. Does he really wind up living with Jack? And who does Danny bring back from his travels through time? warning: contains canon character death. CU, no A.
1. A World Without Abby

Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me. This is fan fiction, not for profit.

Any references to people, places, businesses, etc. are entirely fictitious.

A World Without Abby

…_King's Cross revisited__…_

-x-x-x-x-x-x

In an instant Connor's world changed.

Abby and Connor were talking about the last time they had been at King's Cross station so many years before.

"That anomaly right after convergence," laughed Abby. "Remember? The anomaly that closed before we got to it."

"How could I forget?" replied Connor. "It was right after you proposed. For a moment there we thought the anomalies were gone for good and the world was returning to normal."

"Normal is overrated," smirked Abby. Their daughter tugged free from her mother's hand and ran towards the edge of the platform.

"Sarah," called Connor, "come back here." He moved to go after the child, but Abby laid her hand on his arm.

"I'll get her," said Abby, "watch Tommy."

Connor glanced down at the sleeping infant in the pram as Abby moved to follow their daughter. In the distance the sounds of the oncoming train could be heard.

"Sarah," chided Abby as she turned the little girl away from the tracks, she pointed to the line painted on the platform floor, "you're supposed to stay behind that line. Go to Daddy now."

Connor knelt down to scoop up his daughter as the little girl returned him. Abby stepped forward to follow after the child. At that instant, the big person next to her, juggling multiple bags and totes, turned sideways. The topmost tote swung loose and knocked into Abby. The blonde staggered backwards trying to regain her balance. She fell to the tracks below.

"Abby!" cried Connor.

The sound of screaming travelers and screaming brakes announced the train's arrival.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Becker awoke to the sound of another scream. He rolled over with a groan to grab the cell phone. The readily identifiable Led Zeppelin ring tone announced Lester's calls.

"Doesn't the man know we're supposed to sleep in on Saturday mornings?" grumbled Becker.

Jess rolled over beside the soldier. Her hugely pregnant belly pressed against Becker's back.

"Hil, please... answer it," said Jess sleepily. "And remember Saturday morning lie ins are a thing of the past when the baby is born."

Becker pressed the little green button. Lester's voice, sounding strained and shaky, spoke.

"What?" exclaimed Becker. He sat up abruptly. "Yes, of course, I'll go get them."

Jess's eyes travelled up from Becker's belly button, across his chest and up to his ashen face.

"What's wrong?" asked Jess as Becker set the phone down on the nightstand. Her husband turned to face her. Tears filled his hazel eyes, and he looked worried. He placed his hand upon her rounded abdomen.

"I don't want to upset you," said Becker softly, "it might be bad for the baby, and…"

"Tell me," insisted Jess. She sat up beside the soldier. "I'm stronger than you think."

Becker hesitated a moment. He thought Jess was one of the strongest persons he'd ever known, but this...

"There's been an accident," began Becker. And by the time he finished speaking, Jess was crying too, but she was also standing and reaching for her clothes.

"I can't believe the world can be so harsh," said Jess, "I'm coming with you."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Connor looked up as he heard the rat-a-tat-tat of heels approaching. Becker and Jess were coming down the corridor of the King's Cross Administrative building. The dark haired scientist jiggled the little girl on his lap.

"Look Sarah," coaxed Connor.

The child lifted her dark eyes to look down the corridor where her father pointed. Her bottom lip trembled.

"Uncabeca," called the little girl.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Becker was surprised. The precocious preschooler had been talking in complete sentences for quite some time, and had been calling him Uncle Hil for even longer. Becker couldn't remember the last time the child had called him by the old baby talk name she'd now used. Becker lifted the little girl up into his arms and looked at his friend.

"Oh God," said Becker, "did she see what happened?"

"No," replied Connor quickly. "I was holding her, her face was turned the other way. All Sarah knows is that she wants her mum."

Connor's face scrunched up miserably.

"And mum's not here," he concluded.

Jess placed her hand on the handlebar to the pram.

"We're taking you home," the field coordinator announced.

"No," objected Connor. He glanced down at his sleeping son. "Tommy will be waking up soon, and he'll be hungry. We need to get to the grocers for… I don't know, bottles and formula and… and stuff."

The realization of what Connor meant dawned on Jess. Abby had been breastfeeding, just a Jess hoped to do when her own child was born in another month.

"Right," said Jess, realigning her to-do list in her mind. "Grocers first and then home."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Abby's memorial service was packed.

Jess recognized Connor's parents from their frequent visits to London, and no one could miss Connor's brother. His fraternal twin looked so much like Connor that people who didn't know them well sometimes thought they were identical.

"It's good to see so many family and friends here to support Connor and the children," whispered Jess to Becker.

Her husband pointed to a sandy haired young man coming in the door just then.

"Yeah," replied Becker with a grimace, "even Jack showed up to remember his sister. Pity he didn't show up more often when she was alive."

"Don't be mean," hissed Jess.

"Do you know how many times over the years that Abby or Connor has asked me to help find that prat?" asked Becker.

"He's here now," reminded Jess, "and that's what matters."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

After the memorial service, Jack approached Connor where he was still sitting in front of the podium that held Abby's picture. The scientist was trying to tuck a blanket around the infant in his arms. Little Sarah was clinging to her father's right arm and making it hard to adjust the fabric.

"Connor," greeted Jack.

His brother-in-law looked up at him. Jack inhaled sharply at the sight of Connor's dark brown eyes. Abby had once told Jack that Connor's eyes were part of what made her fall in love with him. _Connor's eyes are warm and kind and when he looks at me, it's like he sees someone special, and I want to be that person for him._ Now, Connor's eyes were reddened and there was nothing warm or kind in the gaze he turned on Jack.

"Jack," replied Connor with a curt nod. "Good of you to come."

Jack blinked. As if he wouldn't come, but then Abby's brother remembered all the times he hadn't been there. Jack swallowed. He sat down in the empty chair beside his niece.

"I'm sorry," said Jack. "I wish… I wish…"

Jack stopped speaking for a moment. Then he breathed out and squared his chin and tried again.

"I wasn't the best brother," admitted Jack. "But I want to help. What can I do?"

"Do you know how to change a nappy?" asked Connor.

"No," replied Jack, "but I can learn."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Becker didn't understand at first. He was sure Jack was just trying to mooch off Connor.

"Why are you letting that prat move in with you?" asked Becker.

"My parents wanted me and the children to leave London," replied Connor. "Move back home where they, Cormac and his family, all of them, could help me raise the children."

"You and the children should stay here in London, Jess and I can help," said Becker, and thought Becker so would many others from the ARC. "You know that!"

Connor's brown eyes gazed at his friend. For a moment, Becker saw a spark in his friend's dark eyes.

"I know," agreed Connor. "But you and Jess are going to have a baby of your own soon, I can't ask you…"

"You don't have to ask," interrupted Becker. "We'd do anything for you and the children."

"Child care closes at six. At two in the morning, if Tommy needs a nappy change and Sarah wakes with a nightmare," explained Connor, "I need someone at home to help."

Becker wondered for a moment if both children woke at the same time often, and then he wondered if Sarah was the only one waking with nightmares.

"But seriously," questioned Becker, "Jack?"

"He's their uncle too," reminded Connor. "And if Jack wants to help, I'm not going to turn him down."

And so Jack moved in to the Temple family's spare room.

-x-x-x-x-x-x


	2. Not Normal

Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me. This is fan fiction, not for profit.

Any references to people, places, businesses, etc. are entirely fictitious.

Not Normal

…harsh…

-x-x-x-x-x-x

The Thursday after Abby's memorial service, Becker stopped by the Temple home with some boxes.

"Jess and I packed up Abby's personal items," explained Becker, "from her locker and office."

"Um yeah," said Connor. His jaw muscles clenched tightly as the scientist stared at the boxes in Becker's arms. Then Connor straightened his shoulders up. "I'll just go put her things upstairs."

He took the topmost box from Becker. Then Connor held his hand out for the other box, but Becker shook his head.

"Let me help," said Becker, "it's heavy."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Connor returned to work at the ARC the following Monday. Jess was at the anomaly detection device running a systems check when the dark haired man entered the hub.

"Connor," greeted Jess in surprise. "I wasn't expecting you back so soon."

Lester came out of his office and stood behind Jess. The bureaucrat placed his hand on the back of the Jess's chair.

"What are you doing here?" asked Lester.

Connor gestured towards the corridor leading to his lab.

"I work here," answered the scientist, before he turned and strode away.

Lester followed Connor down the corridor and into the lab.

"I told you to take some time off," reminded the ARC's director as the door shut behind him with a swoosh. "There was no rush."

Connor turned abruptly to face his boss. His dark eyes were shadowed and for a moment he didn't say anything. His chest heaved with a deep breath.

"It seemed like a bit of rush," said Connor icily. "You had Abby's stuff cleared out."

Lester blinked at the anger evident in Connor's voice.

"I'm not trying to replace Abby, but there is work to be done," said Lester softly. "The menagerie needs to be maintained. Abby wouldn't like it if the creatures weren't cared for properly."

Connor stood still for a moment, then sagged back against the desk behind him. He sighed.

"Yeah," said Connor. "You're right, Abby wouldn't want the creatures to suffer."

And thought Lester, Abby wouldn't want Connor to suffer.

"Connor, if you want to take some more time," began Lester.

"No," interrupted Connor. The dark haired scientist shook his head. The dark brown eyes that gazed at Lester blinked a couple of times before Connor continued.

"The grief counselor told me I needed to keep as many things as possible the same for Sarah and Tommy," explained Connor. "Routines are important for children, so I took them to child care this morning and came to work."

"I thought Abby's brother was supposed to be helping out," replied Lester.

"He is, at nights," answered Connor, "but in the day, Sarah's been going to the preschool program, so I want to keep her in it. And the staff is being very supportive. They extended Tommy's hours in the infant care program. I can work."

Lester wondered if the routine was also to benefit Connor. Lester nodded.

"No field work though," insisted Lester. "Your children have already lost one parent, and we don't want you endangering yourself."

Connor's eyes flashed again. Lester watched as Connor visibly struggled to get himself under control.

"This work isn't what killed Abby," answered Connor finally in a quiet tone.

"No," agreed Lester, "and we want to make sure this work doesn't kill you."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

There were no anomalies that day or the next. Connor and Lester continued to argue about the scientist's role at the ARC. On Wednesday, Jess went into labor. The baby was a little early, but it was a good thing according to the physician.

"No telling how big he would have been if you'd gone full term," chuckled the doctor as he handed the healthy nine pound boy to Jess.

Jess and Becker had a small disagreement about naming the boy.

"Well if you really don't' think we can use the name for the middle name," said Jess, "then we'll just have to use it for his first name."

"I thought we agreed to the name George, after your father," groaned Becker, "the baby doesn't need a middle name."

"Yes he does," insisted Jess.

Becker wasn't happy with the child's middle name, but he thought it was better as a middle name than a first name.

"George Hilary Becker sounds better," agreed Becker finally.

And Lester got his wish, Connor was off field work for the foreseeable future.

"Connor, no one else knows the equipment better," explained Lester. "I really need you to help with the ADD while Jess is out on maternity leave."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

A routine of sorts began. Connor took the children in to childcare on his way to work. Jack tidied up, which meant playing video games mostly and then went job hunting. The children's uncle picked them up in the afternoon and brought them home. In their own way, Connor and Abby's family and friends all did their best to help the family through this difficult time.

For the first several months after the accident, Connor's parents arrived nearly every other weekend. Or if they didn't come, Connor's brother would show up with his wife and son. Connor's mother always said the same thing at the end of his parent's visits.

"You and the children should come home."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

The holiday season was hard. At first, Connor refused to go to the ARC's holiday party, but Lester wouldn't hear of it.

"You have to get out sometimes," ordered Lester. "And it will be better with friends."

Connor wound up sitting between Jenny and Sarah at dinner at a small round table. They had some catching up to do. It had been a while since Connor and Jenny had seen Sarah. The archeologist had left the ARC when Abby, Connor and Danny had gone missing years before. Danny's brief return and absence again still weighed heavily on the beautiful woman.

"How are things at the museum?" asked Jenny.

"Oh you know, same old, same old," replied Sarah in a teasing tone, "poking and prodding at old mysteries."

Jenny still worked at the ARC. After convergence, her job had evolved more into informing the public about anomaly alerts than covering them up. The public relations representative had started the "Know Your Dinosaur" campaign several years previously. The popular "Carnivore or Herbivore?" program, with posters of dinosaurs on public billboards throughout the United Kingdom, had been credited with saving lives on more than one occasion.

"Sounds like it beats advertising any day," chuckled Jenny.

Connor's dark brown eyes grew large when the music started after dinner. The table of non-dancers caught the attention of the lead musician. At the break between sets, the man came over and introduced himself.

"Michael," suggested Connor as he pointed to the empty seat next to Jenny, "why don't you sit down?"

Conversation moved from music to public relations and beyond. A little later, Sarah's foot kicked Connor under the table.

"Ow," protested Connor. "What was that for?"

"You haven't asked me for a drink," answered Sarah.

"I didn't know you wanted one," replied Connor.

The archeologist rolled her eyes and gestured towards the bar. Connor finally took the hint.

"Sarah," asked Connor as he rose from the table, "would you like a drink?"

The archeologist tossed her dark hair back and stood to join the scientist. She linked her arm through Connor's. Together the two friends walked across the room leaving Jenny chatting with Michael.

"I haven't seen Jenny's eyes light up like that in years," whispered Sarah conspiratorially.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Connor refused to take the children up to his parent's home for the holidays.

"No Mum," objected Connor, "we're staying in London."

The dark haired scientist listened to the voice on the phone and sighed.

"I know you think it's best," Connor continued, "but London is our home. And we have to learn to live without everyone clinging so much."

The Temple home might have gone without a Christmas tree that year, but Jack insisted.

"You have to Connor," argued Jack, "Sarah's old enough to remember."

Connor's parents, brother, sister-in-law and nephew arrived on Christmas Eve to help Connor and Jack decorate the small tree. Becker, Jess and little Georgie arrived later, and for a while the house was filled with laughter again. When Tommy managed to get up on his hands and knees and belly flop towards an ornament on the floor beneath the tree, a real smile spread across Connor's face.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

In February Emily got Connor to take little Sarah to the children's story hour at the library on Saturday morning. The Victorian had been stopping by nearly every other Monday with the latest children's picture books from the library near her and Matt's home. Emily would pick up the books from her last visit and leave a pile of new ones for Connor to read to the children.

"There is a puppet show this week to go along with the story, I'm bringing Caitlyn," encouraged Emily. "You should bring Sarah and Tommy."

The pretty young woman in charge of children's programs at the library came up to Emily at the end of the puppet show.

"Who's your friend Emily?" asked the woman. "And is he single?"

-x-x-x-x-x-x

On a sunny Saturday in May, the Becker and Temple families went for a walk in the park. Jess pushing Georgie's pram and Jack pushing Tommy's pram, wound up in front. Connor and Becker, swinging little Sarah between them, followed after.

"Tommy is so big compared to Georgie," said Jess.

The now nine month old baby was bigger than a six month old as expected, but Jess was trying very hard to make small talk with Jack. Walking, pushing strollers, and talking with Jack was nothing like Jess had imagined it would be like walking, pushing strollers, and talking with her best friend Abby.

"Tommy is a good eater," answered Jack with a shrug.

Jess glanced back over her shoulder. Becker, little Sarah and Connor were falling behind as the men slowed their footsteps to match the child's pace. She wasn't trying to pry, but did want to know if the people she loved were starting to heal.

"Is Sarah still having nightmares?"

"Not recently, I can't remember the last time," answered Jack.

Jess smiled.

"What about Connor," began Jess, "is he…"

"Connor still has nightmares every Saturday night," replied Jack as he pushed Tommy's stroller forward.

"What?" asked Jess in surprise. She stopped walking. "I didn't know Connor was having nightmares."

"Then why did you ask?"

"I didn't. I… I wasn't asking about nightmares," said Jess feeling flustered. "I was going to ask if Connor was interested in the librarian Emily introduced him to."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Becker smiled as he glanced down at the little girl holding his hand and her father's.

"One, two, three," counted the soldier.

"Whee," squealed the child as she was lifted in the air. The two men plopped little Sarah down safely in the pathway a stride ahead of her launch point.

"Daddy," accused Sarah, "you forgot to say whee!"

The dark haired scientist blinked. He smiled at the little girl for a brief moment.

"You're right Princess," agreed Connor. "Maybe we should try again?"

This time, Connor said whee as the child was airborne. Ahead of them, Becker could see Jess and Jack slowing the prams next to a picnic table. Jess called for Sarah and the little girl ran off leaving Becker and Connor to catch up.

"How are things going Connor?" asked Becker.

"I guess they're going," replied the scientist. His face twisted up for a moment, then he added, "I just don't think things are ever going to be normal again."

Becker didn't quite know what to say, so he said something he remembered people telling his mother after his father had passed away.

"Just give it time," said Becker.

-x-x-x-x-x-x


	3. Wishful Thinking?

Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me. This is fan fiction, not for profit.

Any references to people, places, businesses, etc. are entirely fictitious.

Wishful Thinking?

…_time__…_

-x-x-x-x-x-x

On the first day of summer, Danny came back through an anomaly. Becker stared in shock at the person accompanying the red head. The former copper stepped forward, bent his head down and whispered in Becker's ear.

"We've been travelling for ages," said Danny "this is the first anomaly to a civilized time that we've found."

"Um, uh, I'm glad you're back," greeted Becker.

"I know it will be a problem," continued the former copper, "but Lester will just have to create some identity papers for her, I couldn't leave her stuck in the cretaceous by herself."

"Um, uh, you've been gone a while Danny," stammered Becker, "things have changed since you left."

The red head straightened up abruptly.

"What year is it?" asked Danny. "What's changed?"

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Becker took them both to see Lester for debriefing. The soldier tried very hard not to notice the shocked look on Connor's face when they walked into the hub or the way the scientist quickly turned his face away from the little group. Becker totally missed the look of surprise on the woman's face, or the way the blonde turned her head to continue looking at Connor after they moved past his seat in front of the ADD. The soldier was watching Lester's face. The director blanched as if he'd seen a ghost.

"Hello gov," said Danny with a cheeky grin. The tall red head pulled a straight back chair away from the wall, spun it around and straddled it.

Lester glanced briefly at Danny before settling his gaze on the petite woman in front of him. She sat down in the chair opposite him.

"This doesn't look like your brother," replied Lester.

"Yeah," agreed Danny. "Haven't found Patrick, but I did find another cretaceous universe."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Becker left the debriefing room after telling Lester the anomaly was locked and secure. He stopped by the anomaly detector. Connor was seated in front of the device, just staring at the screen.

"Sanders was supposed to make sure you weren't at the hub when we arrived," said Becker quietly.

"Oh, is that what caused his computer malfunction?" asked the scientist. Connor shrugged. "It's okay, I know she's not Abby."

"Well," objected Becker, "she sort of is."

Connor looked through the glass into Lester's office where the man sat facing Danny and this young woman with short white blonde hair. The Abby in that room had never spent a year in the cretaceous, never been to that horrible future, never proposed... that woman wasn't his Abby.

"No," said Connor, "she really isn't."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Lester stared across the desk at Danny in an imperious manner.

"Then why didn't you bring anyone else back?" asked the bureaucrat. "Where's the other Connor?"

"He fell," whispered the woman sitting across from Lester. Her chin trembled for a moment, then she continued speaking. "Connor broke his neck. He was gone before we could get down from the tree."

"And don't go asking about the other Danny," said the red head in front of Lester, "he tried to hold off a raptor with nothing but a stick."

"It's my fault," explained the woman. Her blue eyes welled up with tears. "Danny wanted me to move, to chase after Helen or go back to the ARC, but I wouldn't leave Connor. We tried carrying his body, but... the raptor woke up."

The blonde woman sniffled.

"Would you like to take a moment?" asked Lester. He offered the handkerchief from his suit coat pocket.

"Could I get a glass of water?" asked the woman.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Becker showed the woman to the break room. This time he noticed how both Connor and the woman avoided looking at each other. The soldier handed the blonde a glass of water. The smile and blue eyes that looked up at Becker were so familiar. This woman looked so much like the Abby that Becker remembered, that the soldier had to blink back the sudden tears in his eyes.

"What happened to the Abby in this time?" asked the woman.

"There was an accident," replied Becker, "a stupid, senseless accident."

A voice down the corridor called for the Captain. Becker glanced from the woman to his lieutenant.

"Can you make your way back to Lester's office?" asked Becker.

"Yeah," replied the woman.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

The clanging alarm of the anomaly detector went off as the woman entered the hub. Soldiers hurried past the woman in their hurry to join Becker on the alert. The petite blonde found herself spinning around and she placed her hands on Connor's workstation to steady herself. She gasped at the sight of Connor's wide eyed gaze upon her. Something wobbled and knocked over on Connor's desk. His hands left the keyboard in a desperate grasp to reach the framed picture. The blonde caught it as it fell backwards towards her. She looked at the family picture in her hands. The photograph had been taken right after Tommy had been born, Connor held little Sarah, Abby held the newborn. The woman stared at the picture, her fingers clasping it tightly. She finally looked up at Connor.

"Can I have me photo back?" asked Connor.

The woman looked at the photograph again, before reluctantly handing it back to Connor.

"You had children?" whispered the woman. "Where are they?"

"Childcare," answered Connor.

"At this time of night?" asked the petite blonde.

Connor glanced at the clock on the wall.

"Well no," admitted Connor, "by now Jack has picked them up."

"Who's Jack?" asked the woman.

Connor sucked in a breath and paused a moment before answering.

"How can you be Abby Maitland," asked Connor, "and not know Jack?"

"I don't know anyone named Jack," replied the blonde, "and my name is Abby Temple."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Lester and Danny were watching the pair from the office. They could hear the conversation, but it didn't seem as if Connor and the woman were aware they were being watched.

"Most things in her history seemed to be the same up until about the time I joined the ARC," said Danny. "In her timeline, she and her Connor were living together, really together, and after the fungus creature incident, they got married."

"So Connor never lived at the ARC," mused Lester, "or my flat?"

Danny turned to look at the director.

"Your flat?"

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Connor looked at the woman standing before him. She wore a chain around her neck. The old familiar Lord of the rings souvenir was on the chain, as well as a man's gold ring. The simple band seemed to be about the size to fit Connor's finger. In addition, the chain held a pair of smaller rings, a woman's sparkling engagement ring and a wedding band.

"Our timelines are a bit different," replied Connor.

"Yeah, you think?" responded the blonde sarcastically. "You seem to have made it out of the cretaceous alive."

"We spent a year there," said Connor, "don't know how we managed, but we did keep each other alive."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Lester turned to look at Danny.

"Sarah wasn't happy when you disappeared with Connor and Abby the first time," said the bureaucrat. "She was furious with me when I halted the rescue efforts after only three trips into the racetrack anomaly. She seemed to think I wasn't trying hard enough to rescue you lot."

The lanky red head shrugged.

"Didn't mean to upset Sarah," was his only comment.

"And," continued Lester, "she was even more furious with me when she found out you had been back and left again. She seemed to think I was supposed to keep you here."

"Sarah does have a temper," agreed Danny. He leaned back against the door frame and stared at Lester. "What's this all about gov?"

Lester stroked a hand down the sleeve of his fine Italian suit. He adjusted the cufflinks before speaking.

"She made me promise to let her know if you ever showed up again," replied Lester.

A slow smile started across Danny's face.

"Really?" asked the former copper.

"Yes, really," replied a voice from behind Danny.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Abby and I," said Connor hesitantly, "we weren't married when we went into the cretaceous."

"What? Why not?" asked the woman. She narrowed her blue eyes in a familiar gesture. "When did you get married?

"Abby proposed after convergence," replied Connor. He started to explain what convergence was, but the blonde held up her hand to stop him.

"Good to know some things stayed the same," said the woman, "I proposed to Connor too."

'What?" asked Connor, "When?"

"Connor almost froze to death," answered the woman, "I asked him to marry me with a fungus creature breathing down my neck."

"Really didn't like that thing," said Connor with a shudder.

For a moment there was almost a shared memory. Then the woman shook herself and straightened up.

"I do need to know what's different in this time," said the blonde. "Becker said this was 2019, so you're what... thirty-eight now?"

Connor's nod of agreement, brought out a small chuckle.

"An old married man with kiddies," replied blue eyed woman. She looked at the man before her, this wasn't her Connor.

"Not so old," protested Connor. "Anyway, how old are you?"

"Probably twenty-seven now," answered the woman. "Sort of hard to keep track of birthdays when you're moving through anomalies."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Lester, Danny and Sarah stood together on the landing above the hub, watching as Connor and the woman who wasn't their Abby continued to speak to each other.

"Do you think," Lester said quietly, hopefully, "that there is such a thing as destiny or fate? Maybe even a soul mate, or true love?"

The lanky redhead wrapped his arm around the dark haired woman at his side. Sarah leaned into his embrace.

"You and the mammoth gov?" asked Danny with a cheeky grin.

"Hmmph!" snorted Lester.

"I don't know anything about destiny, fate or soul mates," added Danny, "I just believe in love."

-x-x-x-x-x-x


	4. Rex

Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me. This is fan fiction, not for profit.

Any references to people, places, businesses, etc. are entirely fictitious.

Rex

…_believe__…_

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Connor felt drained by the time he got home. It was far later than usual, and he was glad at first that Jack had fed both Sarah and Tommy and put them to bed. Glad until he saw the sink. Connor picked up the yellow peels and turned to look at his brother-in-law.

"Bananas?" asked Connor. "Seriously? That's what you fed them for dinner?"

"Sarah had cereal too," replied Jack. He picked the empty plastic bowl up off the table and tossed it towards Connor. "They're both a pair of monkeys anyway."

The little pink bowl bounced off Connor's hand causing him to drop the banana peels. The dark haired scientist sighed and knelt to pick up both the bowl and the peels. Jack looked at him curiously.

"Are you all right?" asked Jack. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Connor looked up at the sandy haired man. How was he supposed to tell Jack that a younger version of his sister had arrived in London from an alternate universe?

"In a way," began Connor, "I sort of have, only she's not a ghost."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Lester stared at the young woman seated across his desk. Her face was so familiar, but there was no bright smile and the blues eyes seemed to have lost their sparkle. The bureaucrat swallowed the lump in his throat before speaking.

"We'll have to get you some new identity papers," began Lester, "but we've got a place for you to stay."

"New identity papers?" asked the young woman.

"We've already had an Abby Temple in this timeline," reminded Lester. "And while you look like her, she would have been thirty-six next month. We don't want to confuse anyone that knew her."

Realization dawned on the blonde as she began to understand what Lester meant.

"You can stay at the high rise," added Lester. At the woman's expression, the bureaucrat explained. "The ministry of Temporal Affairs maintains a flat for visitors from other ARC locations across the world. It's currently available."

"But I want to go home," objected the blonde.

"Your home," reminded Lester gently, "was ten years ago, in another timeline."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Sarah and Danny took the blonde over to the posh flat. The dark haired archeologist smiled brightly as she pointed out the shiny metal kitchen appliances. Sarah opened the refrigerator. She quickly shut the door on the bare shelves and opened the freezer compartment. Two ice cube trays sat on the empty shelves.

"Right," said Sarah with a forced smile, "what's your favorite takeaway?"

Sarah flipped open her cell phone and called in the order for delivery. Danny shook his head as she hung up.

"Can't believe there was no food in the fridge," muttered the former copper.

"Jess is on maternity leave," reminded Sarah.

"What?" exclaimed Danny looking puzzled.

"Who's Jess?" asked the petite blonde.

"Jess is the best field coordinator you'll ever find," answered Sarah. "If she had been working there would have been food in the fridge and the freezer. You better check the bedroom for sheets."

The blonde disappeared down the corridor towards the bedroom while the dark haired woman turned to Danny.

"You met Jess eight years ago, remember?" asked Sarah.

"Yeah, bright young woman, high heels," nodded Danny, "when I spoke to Lester, she was running the ADD."

"Yeah," agreed Sarah, "that was right before you left again."

Danny's jaw dropped for a moment at Sarah's tone, but before he could respond to Sarah's comment, the blue eyed woman returned.

"There are clean sheets, blankets, towels and all sorts of bath things, including a robe," said the petite woman, "but I'm going to need something to wear tomorrow for work."

She plucked at the tattered shirt she was wearing and sniffed.

"I smell," added the woman.

"Work?" asked Danny.

"I work at the ARC," replied the blonde, "remember?"

For a moment, Danny wondered if he still worked at the ARC, but then the doorbell rang. The delivery person arrived. Sarah paid the man and turned to face the pair of time travelers.

"Hungry?" asked Sarah.

Over dim sum and vegetable lo mein, Sarah brought Danny and the blonde up to date on the year 2019.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Jenny arrived at the club in time for the first set. The music was great and if she hadn't been waiting for Michael, she might have accepted some of the invitations she received to dance. At intermission, the smiling musician joined her at the tiny table for two.

"How was work?" asked Michael.

Jenny rolled her eyes. She picked up the slender glass from the table in front of her. Most of the beverage was already gone.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," chuckled Jenny in response.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Becker took off his heavy black boot and set it quietly on the floor next to the other one. He then began to peel off his wet socks. Through the open bedroom door, he could see into the hallway. Jess exited the baby's bedroom and pulled the door shut behind her.

"Ssh," admonished his wife as the cat entangled itself between Jess's ankles and started to meow. "Georgie's sleeping."

Jess headed towards the bathroom and Becker heard the sounds of squeaky faucets turning, followed by a rush of water. The soldier began to peel off his wet shirt. The damp fabric clung to his chest and then got stuck on his head. He heard Jess giggle.

"Let me help," said Jess as she began to tug on the fabric.

The shirt finally released the soldier and Becker found himself staring at his wife. As always, the sight of Jess took his breath away. Jess's dark hair was pulled off to one side where Georgie couldn't pull it. The bright floral button down shirt Jess wore was stylish and summery, and made it easy for her to nurse the baby. Her body had changed some with childbirth and motherhood, but in Becker's eyes she was more beautiful than ever.

"So tell me," began Jess, "what's she like? Is she anything like the real Abby?"

"Huh?" asked Becker. "How did you hear about that woman?"

The soldier had only just arrived home from the second anomaly outing of the day and hadn't had time to tell Jess anything about the arrivals from the first anomaly.

"Oh puh-lease," replied Jess with a roll of her eyes, "I have my sources."

Becker arched one eyebrow up as he thought about Jess's statement. He knew Connor wouldn't have said anything about the woman, and Emily had been out today. Jenny, decided Becker, was the most likely source of Jess's information.

"So you want to know about the woman Danny brought back from the cretaceous," said Becker in a teasing tone, "before you ask why your husband is all wet?"

Jess shook her head with a knowing smile.

"A giant lizard knocks you into the Thames River," replied Jess, "and I have three different people calling to tell me you're alright and two send pictures from their cell phones."

"It wasn't just a lizard," replied Becker, "it was a megalania. The biggest land lizard known… or at least that's what she said when we brought the creature back to the menagerie."

Jess looked up at Becker.

"So this other Abby," said Jess hesitantly, "she's good with creatures, like our Abby?"

"God, don't call her Abby," replied Becker, "Lester and Connor will have a fit, but yeah, she's good with the creatures. Especially Rex."

"Rex?" asked Jess.

"Yeah," replied Becker. "When we brought the megalania into the ARC, the woman followed us into the menagerie. Kept telling us we shouldn't treat a lizard like that… as if we had a choice while we were trying to get that creature under control..."

"And how does Rex fit into this story?" interrupted Jess as she moved towards the door.

"Well you know how Rex has been droopy, not chirping much and sort of just not being himself," said Becker as he began to wiggle out of his wet cargo pants, "ever since… you know."

"Yeah," replied Jess. She looked at her husband. Her chin trembled just a bit. "I know."

Becker looked at his wife. Yes, he knew Jess understood. They both worried about Connor and the children, even Rex and Jack sometimes, but Becker worried about Jess. She had lost her best friend nearly eight months ago. He inhaled deeply and pretended they were only talking about Rex.

"Well the little green guy saw her and took off," continued Becker. "Rex flew straight across the menagerie and jumped into her arms and began chirping like crazy."

His trousers dropped to the floor around his ankles and Becker stepped out of the wet clothing, stepping towards Jess.

"Hot bath should be ready by now," replied Jess.

She led him by the hand towards the bathroom. Becker sank into the steaming warmth with a grateful sigh as Jess turned off the faucets. Jess began to slip out of her clothes.

"What did Connor say when Rex flew towards her?" asked Jess.

"Nothing, he wasn't there," replied Becker. The soldier held his hand out towards Jess. "Connor left the ARC as soon as Matt called to say we were on our way back."

"Maybe she'll be alright," said Jess as she took his hand and stepped into the hot soak bath. "Abby always did say that Rex was a good judge of character."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Danny followed Sarah to her car. The talk over dinner of the events of the past eight years had been somewhat overwhelming. Connor and Abby finally getting together was something the red head would have bet money on. And while Danny was glad that Becker had finally gotten a girlfriend, a wife now, it was surprising to think of the taciturn soldier as a married man that could change a nappy as easily as he could take apart and clean a Mossberg.

"You know," began Danny as Sarah inserted the key in the ignition, "I wasn't expecting to be gone this long."

"Nobody's saying goodbye," said Sarah. The archeologist turned to look at him. "That's what you said before you went into that awful anomaly."

"I wasn't saying goodbye," agreed the redhead with a nod.

"But when you came back again," said Sarah, "you left right away."

"My baby brother," said Danny, "I had to…"

Sarah tilted her head sideways and regarded him quizzically. When she had first arrived at the ARC earlier this evening, the archeologist had just been so glad to see Danny that she hugged him impulsively, but now, Sarah needed to know where she stood with him.

"Are you going away again?" asked Sarah. "Is Patrick more important than me, than us?"

"No!" exclaimed Danny. "Nothing, no one, is more important than you."

"Then why did you leave?"

For a moment, Danny's shoulders slumped. His craggy face crumpled, then he sighed and straightened up.

"What's a beautiful, smart woman like you want with an old codger like me?" asked Danny. "I'm at least twelve years older than you, maybe more now."

Sarah's smile curled up in a smirk. Laugh lines crinkled around her dark eyes. She turned the key and the engine started.

"You've been gone a while Danny," reminded Sarah as she backed the car out of the space. "I've had a few birthdays to catch up. I'm forty now."

"Really, you haven't aged a bit," said Danny. An answering smirk starting to grow across his face. "So where do we go from here?"

"Our place," replied Sarah.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

At the high rise apartment, the blonde woman made up the huge bed with crisp white sheets smelling faintly of the lavender scented shelf paper in the linen closet. Her damp hair was drying quickly in the dry climate controlled air of the flat. The filthy clothing she had worn from her time, to the cretaceous, through half a dozen other timelines, to this present, was now in the bin. The woman shivered out of the bathrobe she was wearing before climbing into the big empty bed.

"I don't want a new name," whispered the woman. "And I don't want this fancy flat, I just want to go home."

Her fingers grasped the chain around her neck and pulled the dangling rings up in front of her eyes. She had thought that seeing Connor fall from that tree was the worst thing she would ever see, but that picture on the other Connor's desk… the picture of what might have been… what should have been… what would never be for her and Connor... in some ways that was almost worse.

"Oh Conn," whispered the woman.

-x-x-x-x-x-x


	5. Cerys?

Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me. This is fan fiction, not for profit.

Any references to people, places, businesses, etc. are entirely fictitious.

Cerys?

…_home__…_

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Connor came downstairs early Saturday morning determined to fix a good breakfast. The aroma of potatoes, bacon and toast soon filled the kitchen. The dark haired scientist scrambled eggs for Tommy, and then began to fry eggs for little Sarah, Jack and himself. He turned at the sound of tiny footsteps on the stairs. His daughter entered the kitchen and looked at him accusingly.

"Daddy," asked Sarah, "what are you doing?"

The child had dressed herself in her favorite outfit. Blue leggings were topped by a blue and white tunic shirt ending in several layers of ruffles. Although the child had his dark hair and eyes, for a moment, Connor thought little Sarah more resembled the Abby of so many years before dressed in her leggings and short skirts.

"I know you had cereal and bananas last night for dinner," replied Connor, "so I wanted to make sure you had a good meal this morning."

"Uncle Jack said we were having dinner this morning," explained the child, "since we had breakfast last night."

Connor rubbed his tired eyes and then turned back to the stove to flip the eggs. He hadn't slept well last night.

"You can have dinner for breakfast when Uncle Jack cooks," responded Connor. "Today we're having breakfast for breakfast."

A wailing sound came from upstairs. Connor stopped for a moment and lifted his head up to listen. Tommy's indignant howl came again. Connor started to turn off the burner, but then he heard Jack's voice.

"I've got Tommy," called Connor's brother-in-law from upstairs. "We'll be right down."

There was the sound of footsteps and then an indignant howl from Jack.

"Eww!" exclaimed Jack's voice. The sound of the bath being turned on almost drowned out his next words. "It will be a while."

After Sarah finished her breakfast, she went to get her library books and shoes. The freshly cleaned ten month old Tommy was sitting in the high chair gnawing on a crust of toast. Connor picked up his daughter's dishes and moved to the sink. The scientist began washing up. Jack stuffed another piece of bacon in his mouth and then picked up his empty plate and joined Connor at the sink.

"You had a nightmare last night. You shouldn't be waking a bloke up when it's only Friday night," said Jack, adding the dish to the sink. His snarky tone sounded a bit accusing. "Was it the usual one?"

Connor looked up from the frying pan he was scrubbing. When Jack had first moved in, Connor had been having frequent nightmares about the accident. The scientist blamed himself for not saving Abby. As time had passed, the nightmares had abated somewhat, but he still had horrible dreams every Saturday night.

"It was a different kind of nightmare," confessed the dark haired man, "about the time when Abby and I were in the cretaceous."

Jack shuddered. Abby had once told her brother some of the events from that journey in time.

"So you were dinosaur chow," replied Jack, "must have been awful…"

Connor stopped washing the dishes. He rested his forearms on the edge of the sink and shook his head.

"It wasn't all awful," said Connor, "at least we were together. I didn't wake up until we got back to London and in my dream... a spinosaurus came after us on a train."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Emily stood on the pavement outside, holding the door to her vehicle open. Little Sarah ran down the steps and climbed over the empty car seat to sit next to Caitlin. Emily and Matt's daughter and little Sarah were fast friends. The two girls started talking excitedly. In the open doorway, Jack handed Tommy to Connor along with the book bag. Nothing like being direct, decided Jack.

"Are you ever going to ask out that pretty librarian that's been flirting with you?" asked Jack with a smirk.

Outside, Emily moved around the parked car to buckle the little girl into her seat. Inside, Connor's dark eyes opened wide in surprise. The scientist clutched at Tommy, dropping the book bag.

"What?" squawked Connor.

Jack remembered what Jess had asked him at the park in May. He'd asked Emily about the librarian the next time he saw the Victorian woman. The sandy haired man smirked as he bent down and began picking up the books scattered across the floor. Jack began stuffing them back into the bag.

"Come on Connor, Emily said the woman has been flirting with you for months now," said Jack. "Getting you special books, and reserving a seat for you and the children at story time."

"She does that for everybody," protested Connor. He moved the baby from one side to the other.

"Reserving the seat next to her?" asked Jack.

"She's not flirting," answered Connor, "she's just being helpful."

"Nobody's that helpful," commented Jack as he rose to stand. He held out the book bag again.

"I'm not flirting with her," huffed Connor. He accepted the book bag and started down the stairs towards the awaiting car.

"It would be alright if you did," called Jack. "Abby wouldn't mind you know."

On the pavement below, Connor froze. He turned to stare at Jack.

"I'm not cheating on Abby," replied Connor.

"It's not cheating," said Jack. For once his tone of voice held none of the sarcastic banter he usually used when talking to Connor. "You're not together anymore. It's called getting on with your life."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Danny rolled over on the purple sheets to find the space beside him empty. He pushed himself up in alarm.

"Sarah?" the red head called.

Had last night only been a dream? The cool crisp percale sheets felt real enough. Danny looked around him. The bed, this room were all real. The bedroom door opened and the archeologist peered in. Sarah's bright smile flashed at him.

"Good," said Sarah, "You're awake. I was going to leave you a note on the table, but since you're up… ta for now."

"What?" asked Danny as the dark haired woman started to back out of the room. "Where are you going?"

"Shopping," answered Sarah. "To get you and your traveling companion some clothes."

Danny had been surprised last night when Sarah had driven him to his old flat. Sarah had taken over his lease after he'd disappeared through the anomaly. His landlady hadn't argued as she had seen Sarah before and the archeologist obviously had a key. Now Danny looked at his old dresser standing across the room.

"Did you throw out my clothes?" asked Danny.

"No, but maybe I should," replied Sarah with a smirk, "styles have changed in the past ten years."

"I don't need new clothes," protested Danny. "I'd rather just stay here with you."

Sarah smiled gently.

"I'll be back soon," promised Sarah, "she does need clothes and food for the weekend. And I'll have to explain to her that she won't be needed at the ARC until Monday."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Lester rolled over in bed and groaned. The bureaucrat had arrived home very late last night, well after midnight. He couldn't see the clock on the nightstand, but it was obviously too early for any civilized man to get up on a Saturday. Lester groaned again.

"Now?" asked Lester. "Seriously? We have to get up now?"

From the vanity dresser across the room, his wife finished adding mascara to her eyes. She blinked at the reflection in the mirror before turning to face him. Her face lit up with a smirk at the sight of the man tangled in the bed linens before her.

"No James," answered his wife, "you have to get up now if you wish to join the boys and me at the rugby game today. The rest of us have already been up for quite some time."

She rose and walked over to the nightstand and turned the digital clock to face him. Blinking lights showed 1:15. Lester's eyes blinked. He knew it was after two in the morning by the time he and his wife had made it upstairs to the bedroom.

"Afternoon?" asked Lester. "Already?"

"Yes James," replied his wife with a smile. She turned and walked to the bedroom door. As she opened the door, the dark haired woman looked over her shoulder at Lester.

"I thought about what you said last night," added his wife. "If she can't be Abby Maitland or Abby Temple in this world, perhaps Cerys for a first name would do? The name is Welsh and her mother's side of the family was from Wales originally."

Lester propped himself up on one elbow and nodded.

"She really didn't like the idea of changing her name," responded the bureaucrat. "And absolutely refused Gail, but I'll mention your suggestion to her at work on Monday."

The tall, slender woman smiled at him. She moved through the door, hips swaying, with one last comment.

"It's a long drive to the rugby field James," said Lester's wife. "We'll be leaving in fifteen minutes. I'd hurry if I were you."

Bloody hell, thought Lester as he scrambled for his clothing.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Jess answered the knock on her door. Jack stood on the stoop before her. The sandy haired man shifted uncomfortably.

"Did Lester call you?" asked Jack.

Jess nodded.

"I'll need a ride in on Monday morning, early," said Jack. "Would Becker..."

His voice trailed off, but Jess was nodding again.

"Yes, Hil will take you to the ARC on Monday," answered Jess.

The soldier was usually the first of the core team members to arrive at the ARC. Connor, or sometimes Emily, was usually the last to arrive as they both were taking children in to nursery or school. It was now Jack's turn to nod. He started to step away from the stoop, but Jess's voice stopped him.

"Jack," said Jess, "let me know what you think of her."

"Yeah, sure," responded Jack. He paused a moment and then added, "You were right about the librarian. Connor didn't have a clue."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Early Monday morning, Sarah drove both Danny and the blonde to the ARC before going to the British Museum. Emily and Matt met the pair at the front entrance. While Danny joined Matt on his way to the locker room, Emily led the blonde directly to Lester's office. The night coordinator glanced briefly at the two women, but didn't say anything.

"Here," said Emily with a warm smile to the woman. "Remember, he doesn't bite."

Lester was already seated at his desk. The director pointed at the empty chair facing him and nodded to Emily as she left, leaving the door open. The blonde listened as Lester began to speak.

"Creating a new identity," ended Lester finally, "will be easier if we have someone to back your story up."

There was a moments silence as the woman and Lester stared at each other.

"Cerys?" she said at last, pronouncing the unfamiliar name with its hard beginning consonant. "Cerys Maitland?"

Lester shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He stared across the polished wood of his desk at the petite blonde seated across from him.

"Well you didn't seem to like Gail," replied Lester, "which would be an obvious nickname for someone named Abigail…"

"My name is not Abigail!" hissed the blonde. "I can't stand that name! My name is Abby Temple."

From the doorway behind her, another voice spoke.

"Abigail is a beautiful name," said Jack.

The blonde turned in her seat to regard the sandy haired man standing framed in the open door. Jack was now in his early thirties, but still grinned like a mischievous boy.. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of the man.

"Who are you?" asked the woman.

"Jack Maitland," introduced Lester. With a stern look at Jack, Lester added, "It's about time you got here."

Lester leaned back in his chair as Jack stepped into the director's office.

"My big sister was named Abigail Sarah Maitland, but she nearly always went by her nickname Abby," said Jack.

Jack walked around the woman staring at her without saying a word. The blonde rose to stand, feeling uncomfortable with this unexpected inspection.

"You look exactly like she did about ten years ago," said Jack finally. "And quite frankly I think she liked the name Abby Temple better too. She was happier with Connor than I've ever seen her in all my life."

"My name," hissed the blonde, "is Abby Elizabeth Westin Temple. I don't have a brother, and I don't know anyone named Maitland."

"What?" echoed both Lester and Jack.

The woman's story, adopted as an infant, raised as an only child, came out in bits and pieces. She had met her Connor at uni. The herpetologist didn't understand all the differences between her life and Abby Maitland's, and didn't think it mattered.

"I don't want to be his younger sister. Why can't I just be my own self?" asked the woman plaintively. "Anomalies aren't a secret in this world."

"Other timelines aren't publically known," answered Lester. "We try to keep people thinking that the anomalies lead just to prehistoric times."

The woman shook her head and muttered something about conspiracy theories.

"We don't want people to think that human time travel is an option," continued Lester. "Public safety first. Most of our alerts are to keep the anomaly tourists away from the anomalies."

There was an uncomfortable silence.

"Of course, the name is just a suggestion," added Lester. "You could choose something else, just not Abby Temple."

The blonde lifted her head and stared at Jack.

"Why do you want to help me?" asked the woman. She stared at Jack suspiciously.

Jack looked past the woman. Through the glass in Lester's office, the sandy haired man could see into the hub. Connor had just now arrived. The scientist draped his jacket over the chair at the ADD. The night coordinator rose to leave. Jack blinked the sudden moisture from his eyes and focused on the woman again.

"I'm not doing it for you," answered Jack, "I'm doing this for my sister and the people she loved."

It took another twenty minutes of Lester's finest diplomatic coercion before the woman finally conceded.

"Fine!" agreed the woman in a tone that said it was anything but fine. "I'll be Cerys Maitland in this world."

She pushed herself away from Lester's desk.

"I'm going to the menagerie," stated the woman. "At least I've still got a job of my own."

The blonde stormed out of Lester's office in a hurry and ran right smack into Connor Temple.

-x-x-x-x-x-x


	6. Falling

Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me. This is fan fiction, not for profit.

Any references to people, places, businesses, etc. are entirely fictitious.

Falling

-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Ow," said Connor as the back of his head hit the hard black tiled floor beneath him.

The scientist saw stars. He grabbed the first thing he could to stop the spinning. The first thing happened to be the woman that had just crashed into him. Their bodies pressed against each other. Connor blinked as he felt the unexpected warmth of this nearly intimate human touch through the thin fabric of his summer clothing.

"Temple," hissed the woman, "let go of me!"

Connor released the woman, spreading his hands out to either side in a gesture of surrender, but her body was still pressed upon him.

"Sorry, I didn't see you… really, I…," stammered Connor, but part of his body chose that moment to react to the close proximity of this beautiful woman dressed in clingy soft stretch pants and a black top.

"Ohhh!"

Her blue eyes widened and she pushed herself back. The blonde angrily scrambled to her feet. The shark bite hemline of her long top swayed as she stood up. The green leaf print that ran up one side of the garment and across her bosom matched the color of her pants. To Connor's blinking eyes the greenery looked almost like a jungle vine.

"Keep your hands to yourself," snapped the woman. She gave Connor one more fierce glare before striding off towards the menagerie.

The scientist blinked again, and then Lester's face appeared before him. The director was bending over. Lester extended a hand towards Connor, but the scientist shook his head and rolled to the side. Bringing himself up on his hands and knees, Connor began to dust off the seat and legs of his tight gray denims, hoping that no one else noticed the source of his embarrassment.

"I see you've met our newest staff member," said Lester in a dry tone as Connor finally rose to his feet. "She'll be using the name Cerys Maitland."

"My new little sister," added Jack, as if the woman's role needed clarification. Jack's lips turned up in a smirk. "I've never been a big brother before."

Connor looked at his brother-in-law in surprise. Jack was leaning against the door frame of Lester's office.

"What are you doing here Jack?" asked Connor. "Aren't you supposed to be out job hunting?"

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Danny poked his head into Lester's office some time later.

"You wanted to see me gov?" asked the former copper.

Lester looked up and regarded Danny with a bit of a frown.

"Most things in her history seem to be the same," said Lester. "Isn't that what you said about our new team member?"

Danny looked puzzled. He stepped into Lester's office.

"Well yes, except she and Connor got married sooner in her timeline," replied Danny, "oh, and the other thing."

"Other thing?" asked Lester.

"In her timeline, the first time they went into the racetrack anomaly, they weren't searching for Jack," said Danny. "They were chasing after Helen."

Lester just shook his head.

"Doesn't anybody realize," asked Lester as he waved Danny out of his office, "that every little difference matters?"

-x-x-x-x-x-x

The blonde reached the sanctuary of the menagerie out of breath. She sagged against the wall and started to shake. He'd been so close, that other man, the one who looked so like the man she loved. Her blue eyes welled up with tears, and she might have started to cry in earnest if it hadn't been for a cheerful chirp.

"Rex," breathed the woman. She held out her slender arms and the green lizard flew into her embrace. Rex adored the woman, no matter what she was called. "What are you doing here?"

An answering chirp, and Rex took flight again. The blonde hadn't seen much of the menagerie the other night, but now Rex led her on a grand tour of sorts. The spacious creature holding area was nothing like the cramped quarters the woman remembered from the 2009 ARC. She followed Rex past the first containment pen. The megalania snarled a greeting. Further into the menagerie, the mammoth was more sociable, trumpeting loudly at her arrival. The creature's trunk snaked through the opening and snuffled at the blonde.

"Do you remember me?" asked the woman in a soft whisper. The faintest glimpse of a smile started across her face.

Rex chirped impatiently, calling her. At the far side of the huge menagerie, she finally caught up with Rex. The potted trees, with slender trunks and tiny leaves, were nothing like a real forest, but the two baby coelurosauravus flying in between the branches didn't know what they were missing.

"Oh Rex!" exclaimed the woman. Her blue eyes lit up and a bright smile filled her face this time. "So this is why you're living at the ARC!"

For the first time in months, the woman's shoulders relaxed as the tension seemed to drain from her body. A larger lizard, obviously Rex's mate trilled loudly. The creature flew down from the heights of the ceiling rafters to place herself between this human and her young. The female lizard tilted her head, showing a pale blue coloring on her underside that ran from beneath the creature's jawline down to her underbelly.

"The babies are beautiful," praised the blonde. "And so are you. What's your name?"

"Her name is Regina," answered a voice from behind the blonde. The woman spun around to see a sophisticated woman with long chestnut hair. A flash of bright white teeth and dark red lips smiled in greeting.

"Do you know who I am?" asked the dark haired woman. "I didn't get a chance to introduce myself Friday. I'm Jenny. Jenny Lewis."

The blonde smiled in recognition.

"Yeah," replied the blue eyed woman, "I knew a Jenny Lewis in my time. She was my friend."

"Oh good," chuckled the dark haired woman. "I was afraid you were going to call me Claudia or something."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

The blonde steered clear of Connor for the rest of the day. Her schedule started earlier than his and they worked at opposite ends of the huge sprawling ARC. It wasn't until Wednesday that she made her way back to the hub.

"Temple," called the woman.

Connor looked up from underneath the ADD in surprise. He'd been so engrossed in his work that he hadn't heard the soft sound of her sandals. The scientist moved to sit up. He brushed his long dark hair back from his face. A touch of gray showed just above his left ear.

"Yeah?"

"I've gone through every corner of the menagerie," said the blonde. "Where are Sid and Nancy? What happened to them?"

A smile flashed across Connor's face. He stood up beside the ADD console. Connor glanced over his shoulder towards Lester's office, before he turned back to face the woman.

"Lester took them home to his children when Abby and I were stuck in the cretaceous," answered Connor. "You'll never get them back from his boys."

"Oh," said the blonde. She smiled. "Okay, as long as the diictodon's are all right."

She turned to go, her short summer skirt swishing against her bare legs. Connor swallowed and then moved behind the ADD console.

"Cerys," called the scientist. He pronounced the unfamiliar name carefully as if it might hurt if he said it wrong.

The woman turned to look at Connor.

"Look," began Connor, "about what happened the other day, I… I… I wanted to apologize…"

"I over reacted," interrupted the blonde quickly. "I should apologize, I'm the one that ran into you."

"Right, uh, then we're cool," stammered Connor. The scientist pulled the console chair out and sat down. He turned to face the ADD again. "I just didn't want anything to be weird between us."

"Yeah, right," agreed the woman with a bright smile, before she turned back towards the corridor. "Nothing weird."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

By the end of the week, the heat of summer had arrived and the woman, who tried very hard to answer to the name Cerys, had met all the ARC staff except for two members of the Delta team that were on vacation, one person from Charlie team who was on medical leave, and Jess who was still on maternity leave.

"Orchids," exclaimed the woman in delight when Matt brought her a potted plant. The fragile pink blossoms swayed as she accepted the gift.

"Heard you liked them. With the high temperature we've got this week, they're blooming," responded Matt. "Thought it might make your office space feel more like home."

The man from the future also introduced Cerys to his wife. Emily rolled her eyes at Matt's comment that things in 2019 weren't so different from 2009.

"It's only ten year's difference," encouraged Matt. "It won't be that hard to adjust."

"Don't listen to him Cerys," said Emily. The Victorian tucked her arm around the smaller woman and walked with her back to the menagerie. "Take as long as you need to get used to us."

And then Emily told the blonde the same thing Jenny and Sarah had said.

"Let me know if there is anything I can do to help."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Late Friday afternoon, Cerys Maitland joined Matt, Becker and Danny at an anomaly alert as part of the field team. Becker and the woman found themselves trailing some rather large paw prints together.

"How are you settling in?" asked Becker quietly.

"Alright I guess," replied the woman. She wiped her hand across the perspiration beading on her forehead and looked at the soldier curiously. In his black uniform, she couldn't tell if he was sweating or not. "Are you really married with a child in this timeline?"

Becker's lips curled up in a smile at the thought of Jess.

"Oh yeah," the Captain breathed. "Did you think I was going to stay single forever?"

"No," replied the blonde, "I thought you were gay."

Becker's surprised coughing flushed out the snow leopard. The timely arrival of Danny and Matt allowed for the safe capture of the creature. They got the big cat back through the anomaly and then returned to the ARC. Most of the day shift had already left, the night shift taking over. Sarah was in the car park.

"Hurry up," called the archeologist with a smirk at Danny, "we're supposed to be going out tonight!"

Danny waved to Matt and Becker and took two long strides toward Sarah before he stopped and turned to look at the blonde.

"Do you need a ride?" asked the lanky red head. The woman had been carpooling with them all week.

"No," replied the petite young woman. She shook her blonde head. "It's alright, you two go on."

"But how are you…" began Danny.

The timely arrival of their boss interrupted Danny's question.

"Miss Maitland," said Lester. "Would you like a ride back to your flat?"

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Friday night at the Temple home was the usual chaos of dinner, bath, and bedtime stories. Connor finally came downstairs carrying the library books as Jack was finishing the washing up. The sandy haired man looked up from drying the dishes.

"Are they both asleep?" asked Jack.

Connor placed the books on the counter and started putting them one by one into the bag.

"Yeah," replied Connor. He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck.

"You know," suggested Jack, "since you don't seem to be interested in chatting up that librarian, maybe you should try some other way to meet women."

"What?" Connor looked up from the counter in surprise. "What are you talking about Jack?"

"I'm talking about you getting a life," replied his brother-in-law. "I saw how you reacted to Cerys on Monday."

Connor flushed.

"Eight months is a long time," teased Jack. "I was beginning to worry about you mate. Glad to know the dangly bits are still in working order."

If anything, Connor flushed an even brighter shade of red.

"What are you doing," asked Connor, "checking out my dangly bits?"

"I'm not!" protested Jack. "But I notice things… like you haven't looked at a woman, or even had a wank as far as I can tell, since Abby…"

Connor's indignant squawk didn't slow down Jack for a minute. The younger man continued talking.

"Did you ever notice the check-out lady at Sainsbury's?" asked Jack. "Or the woman your brother brought over his last visit?"

"I'm married!" exclaimed Connor.

"You're a widower mate," replied Jack. "And you need to move on with your life."

"I'm doing just fine," growled Connor.

"You need to go out, do something fun," continued Jack. "There's a parent's without partners group that meets near here. With the kiddies on Tuesday afternoons at the rectory, Friday nights at the pub without."

Connor stared at his brother-in-law. The scientist's dark eyes widened in surprise.

"How would you know about a parent's without partners group?" asked Connor.

"Checked out the neighborhood ages ago," answered Jack cheerfully. "Got to know where the birds are."

Connor sucked in a deep breath. The dark haired man remembered a movie night with Abby years ago. He remembered Abby dancing around in a white camisole and pale blue short shorts on a hot summer night similar to this one. She had been holding the DVD box to one of her favorite movies, _About A Boy._

"You stupid prat!" exploded Connor raising his voice with each word. "Have you been using Sarah and Tommy to get dates with women?"

Now it was Jack's turn to look surprised.

"What?"

"Pretending to be a single parent," continued Connor, "like that character in the movie Abby liked?"

"No! God no!" responded Jack vehemently. The slender man stared at Connor. "I'm trying to help you."

"Help me?" asked Connor. "By giving me dating tips?"

"Yeah," answered Jack. "You need someone to love Connor, and the children need a mother."

"We're doing fine," hissed Connor angrily.

"You're not fine," argued Jack. "I grew up without a mother. Do you really want that kind of life for your children? Little Sarah having to watch out for Tommy like Abby watched over me?"

Connor's chest heaved as he tried to control his ragged breathing.

"You don't know what you're talking about," snapped Connor. "You don't know what it's like..."

"You're not the only one who misses Abby," exclaimed Jack. He threw the dish towel down on the counter.

Upstairs a tired wail sounded. Connor looked up at the sound.

"Don't you think I know that," said the scientist.

Jack watched as his brother-in-law turned to go back upstairs. The sandy haired man looked up and shook his head.

"If you're not going to look for some one," muttered Jack, "I'm going to have to do it for you."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Jack pounded on the door to the high rise flat until the door swung away beneath his fist. The woman who looked so much like his sister stared at him.

"Jack," acknowledged the petite blonde. "What do you want?"

The sandy haired man in front of her didn't answer, but asked a question of his own.

"Do you like kickboxing?" asked Jack. "My sister and I used to spar together. There's a gym near here."

The blonde looked around the sterile white and chrome company apartment. Staying in on a Friday night or going to the gym with Jack?

"Sounds unmissable," agreed the woman.

-x-x-x-x-x-x


	7. And Falling

Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me. This is fan fiction, not for profit.

Any references to people, places, businesses, etc. are entirely fictitious.

And Falling

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Sarah pulled into the car park at the ARC Monday morning. They were running late, traffic had been murder. Danny climbed out of the front passenger seat and pulled the chair forward for the petite woman to get out.

"Hey Trouble," smirked the lanky red head as he walked around to the driver's side, "time to get out, we're finally here."

"After work," asked the woman, "can we try the electronics shop you mentioned?"

Sarah rolled her eyes. The archeologist had taken her friend shopping again this past Saturday, but this time the petite woman had been looking for something more important to her than food or clothing.

"We can try girlfriend," promised Sarah, "but I really don't think you'll have any better luck there."

The younger woman stepped out onto the pavement. A small blue cell phone was clutched in her hand. She looked upset, but when she glanced at Danny crouched down beside Sarah's open window, she waited. The blonde looked around the car park trying not to watch as Danny tenderly traced a finger down the side of Sarah's face. The kiss her friends shared was soft, slow and sweet.

"Gotta go to work," murmured Sarah. Danny reluctantly pulled back.

"Uh hmm," coughed the blonde. "Someone's got to still make a charger for this model."

"Just get a new phone," advised the archeologist as she shifted the car into reverse.

The blonde looked from the small device in her hand to the car disappearing down the street.

"But I don't want a new one," she whispered. "This one has all my pictures on it."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Thursday morning Becker braved the depths of the menagerie. It had taken her a while, but the new creature caretaker had confirmed there were a total of six baby coelurosauravus soaring through the ARCs rafters and trees. And of course, the soldier found her beneath the potted trees.

"Maitland, you've been moping all week," said the soldier. "Everyone's noticed."

The Captain had started calling the blue eyed woman by her last name on their first field trip together. Becker couldn't bring himself to call her Cerys or Abby either. However, as he had told Jess there were times when she did something, so absolutely like the Abby that they had known and loved, that it was uncanny.

"Everyone?" asked the blue eyed woman. She looked at him across the top of a baby lizard's head. She was cuddling one of Rex and Regina's brood.

"Maybe not everyone," admitted Becker. "Lester has been in meetings at Whitehall nearly every day and Connor's been obsessing over some flicker in the ADD. It's really not healthy the way he babies that contraption."

A small smile rewarded the Captain's attempt at a joke. He pressed his luck.

"What's the matter?"

"It's my old phone," sighed the woman. "I haven't been able to find a charger for it."

Becker raised his eyebrows in surprise. He knew the woman had been issued a new communication device when she started working at the ARC last week.

"Is this really about the phone?"

A few halting words of explanation and Becker understood.

"Really, you should ask Connor," suggested Becker. "He's brilliant with computers and technical gadgets. I'm sure he can find a way to power up your phone and salvage your pictures."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Temple," a quiet voice called.

At the ADD Connor's slender hands stopped moving, frozen above the keyboard. He peeked out of the corner of his eyes and saw the refugee from another timeline standing beside his workstation. She was wearing the same clingy stretch pants and leaf patterned shirt that she had worn the day she crashed into him. In her hands she held a small blue cell phone.

"Hmmph," said Connor. "I haven't seen one of those in years."

"Yeah," replied the woman. "So I've been told by every tech support person I've talked to this week."

She stepped closer and raised the device up before his eyes. The scientist pushed his long hair back from his face. This time the woman saw the little patch of gray starting above his right ear as Connor leaned in closer to look at the gadget.

"There are some pictures on here," she explained. "Can you do anything to save them?"

The scientist slid the plate with his half eaten sandwich across the surface of his workstation. Connor's fingers brushed her hand for a brief moment as he reached to take the cell phone. He set the device down on the newly cleared space and picked up a small tool.

"I'll try me best Cerys," promised Connor.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Oi Trouble," called Danny. The woman looked up to see the tall red head slouched against the entrance to the menagerie and tapping his wrist. "Time to go."

The woman glanced at the intercom on the wall above her desk. All afternoon the box had remained silent.

"I haven't heard anything yet," said the blue eyed woman. Her eyes held a pleading look. "Just let me check Danny, yeah?"

The former copper grinned and nodded. Then Danny made a shooing motion with his hands.

"Go on back and see if Connor fixed your gadget," replied Danny, "I'll see if I can keep Sarah from driving off without us."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Soft footsteps announced her arrival in the hub. Connor spun around on the chair with a huge grin on his face.

"Cerys," greeted the scientist, "you arrived just in time. Just about ready to give it a go."

She gaped at the array of wires running across the floor and connecting to her small cell phone. It looked like Connor had ransacked every piece of equipment in the room.

"Keep your fingers crossed," advised Connor as he pressed the large enter button on the keyboard before him.

There was a crackling sound and then the ADD monitor lit up. The image of a much younger Connor with short hair, holding a fedora, and wearing a yellow shirt flashed on the screen. The monitor rapidly blinked through a series of pictures and then returned to the first image.

"What happened?" asked the petite blonde.

"File transference," replied Connor with a bright grin. A slender flat silver cylinder ejected from Connor's machine. He took the metallic bar out and held it out towards her. "From your phone, to the ADD, to here."

Her fingertips swept lightly across his hand as she took the cylinder.

"This is sort of like a USB storage device," explained the scientist, "only way better, it's got lots more storage capacity…"

His rambling description continued on for several minutes, without comment from the blonde. She was staring past him to the image on the monitor. He finally turned to look at the screen himself.

"Hmmph," snorted Connor. "I remember that crappy haircut. I wore the fedora for three days straight until Abby took pity on me and trimmed me up right proper."

"My husband's hair looked great like that," insisted the woman. "He kept it short because he knew I liked it that way."

The man sitting before her brushed his long dark hair back from his eyes. The briefest flash of gray hair showed for a moment above his temples and then was hidden when the hair fell back down around his ears. The longer hair on the back of his head fell down over his collar and curled up and around his neck. Connor's dark eyes blinked at her.

"Well I guess we finally found something different, yeah," replied Connor. "Abby always said she liked my hair long."

The two stared at each other in silence for a moment. The door to Lester's office opened and the bureaucrat walked into the hub.

"What on earth!" exclaimed Lester. "Connor what have you done?"

Connor turned his eyes away from the blonde to face his boss.

"Nothing," answered Connor.

"Is the ADD in working order?" barked Lester.

"He was helping me," began the blonde, but she stopped speaking when Connor shook his head.

"Cerys was just leaving," answered the scientist. "If you will all get off the hub floor, I can get on with picking up me wires."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Friday evening, Jack pounded on the door at the high rise flat again. The door swung open to reveal a petite blonde dressed in a white camisole covered with a sleeveless red shirt and a short red ruffled summer skirt. She was holding a pair of strappy white high heels.

"Jack?" What are you doing here?" asked the blonde. She sat down on the nearby chair and began to buckle the shoes on her feet.

"Hey Sis," answered the sandy haired man. "You don't look like you're ready for kickboxing."

She snorted and rolled her blue eyes.

"You didn't check your messages," replied the younger woman. "I'm going out tonight."

"What?" asked Jack in surprise.

"It's Jenny's birthday," answered the woman as she finished buckling the last shoe and stood up straight. "Sarah and Danny are coming to pick me up. We're going to meet Jenny at a club in Soho."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Slow down Jack," said Jess. "I can't understand a word you're saying."

The brunette leaned back into the sofa cushions and listened carefully to the babble on the cell phone.

"Of course we knew about Jenny's birthday party," answered Jess. "And yes, I know Sarah tried to get Connor to go, but none of us have a babysitter tonight."

Jess held the phone away from her ear and winced at the loud squawking protests. She traced her had up Becker's arm and across his shoulder. He smiled at her and moved to take the phone from her hand, but Jess shook her head.

"Hil, I would like to finally meet her," whispered Jess. "And Jack is right about one thing… Connor needs to get out."

Becker raised his eyebrows at the thought of Jack babysitting three children. Jess could tell what he was thinking.

"We'll take Georgie over to Connor's. They'll all be asleep," assured Jess. "It will be fine."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Jenny and the blonde sat together at a round table near the dance floor. The lively music was contagious and the blonde was tapping her foot. On the crowded dance floor, Danny and Sarah were swirling and twirling. The blonde looked at the musicians playing.

"Which one is Michael?" asked the blue eyed woman.

"The one with the saxophone," smiled Jenny. "I'll introduce you when the band takes a break."

A young man stopped at their table. He shifted from one foot to the other and swallowed nervously before speaking to the blue eyed woman.

"Would you like to dance," asked the man with a small smile.

"Go on," urged Jenny. "I just got a text from Jess, they will be here soon."

The blonde accepted the man's hand and followed him to the dance floor. She didn't catch his name when he introduced himself, but did hear his question.

"Cerys," she answered, "Cerys Maitland."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

The blonde was laughing and out of breath by the time the fast paced tune ended. The man she had been dancing with gestured towards a table on the other side of the room.

"Thank you," she replied, "but I've got to get back to my friend."

The blonde glanced across the dance floor towards the table where she had left Jenny. Sarah and Danny, with his arm wrapped around the archeologist's tiny waist, were already there. Beyond her friends, she could see Becker at the club entrance. The soldier was looking towards the table. She wondered for a moment if one of the women crowded around him was his wife. Behind the soldier stood Connor. The blue eyed woman's stomach did a small flip flop as she watched a pretty young brunette tuck her arm in the crook of Connor's elbow, lean in towards the scientist and whisper something in his ear.

"Actually, she looks busy," said the woman turning back to face her dance partner, "I'd be glad to meet your friends."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

The band's set was ending as Becker, Jess and Connor entered the club. The tall soldier saw the table with Jenny, Danny and Sarah.

"This way," announced Becker. The tall man, dressed in tight black denims and a button down shirt that was opened at the throat, stepped forward parting the crowd. Behind him, Jess tucked her arm in the crook of Connor's elbow. The brunette leaned in towards the scientist.

"Relax, it will be fine," assured Jess, "you're just out with friends." She knew from what Jack had told her that Connor hadn't been out without the children since the ARCs holiday party more than six months ago.

"The place is packed," muttered Connor. His eyes scanned the crowd. He recognized Michael coming towards the table where Jenny, Danny and Sarah were gathered. And his stomach clenched as he recognized a head of white blonde hair further across the room. The owner of that hair was standing with a handsome young man. "Really young crowd tonight."

"Oh Connor," laughed Jess as she tugged him forward, "you're young too."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Later in the evening on the dance floor, Danny tapped a young man on the shoulder.

"May I cut in?" asked the tall red head with a cheeky grin. The young man started to object, but Danny stepped closer. "Really mate, I need to talk to the lady. I'm cutting in."

The young man reluctantly relinquished the blonde's hands and stalked off. Danny stepped closer, picking up her hands. At first he didn't say anything. The former copper twirled her away and then back in again.

"So Cerys," asked Danny, "what are you doing?"

The woman's blue eyes blinked in surprise. Danny had jokingly called her Trouble ever since he'd met her in that other cretaceous time. She had only actually been called Cerys by Connor and the ARCs newer team members.

"Dancing," she replied.

"Well you've missed meeting Jess," said Danny, "she and Becker had to leave."

"They left already?"

"Yeah," smirked Danny, "Jack as a babysitter makes Becker nervous."

The woman glanced towards the table. Connor was sitting in between Jenny and Sarah, a half empty pint glass was on the table in front of him.

"Anyway, Sarah and I are getting ready to leave," continued Danny, "we're going to drive Connor home and didn't know if you still needed a ride."

He glanced meaningfully over to the table where her dance partner stood watching them.

"Oh God no," exclaimed the blonde. "We're just dancing. Yes, I need a ride back."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

The blonde hugged Jenny goodbye one last time and hurried to follow Danny, Sarah and Connor outside. She didn't notice the young man following behind. Pushing through the double doors, the woman paused on the entrance steps to take a deep breath. The fresh summer air cleared her head. Danny and Sarah were already across the street, entering the car park. Connor was on the sidewalk waiting for a car to pass. She started down the steps and felt someone grab her wrist. Her startled squawk of protest echoed through the night.

"Cerys," said the young man, "I didn't get your phone number."

"That's because I didn't give it to you," snapped the blonde.

The man hadn't really done anything to deserve her harsh response, but she reacted angrily. She jerked her wrist free of his grasp. The motion staggered her precarious balance. Heels and steps combined to send her falling backwards toward the hard pavement. A pair of strong arms caught her. The blonde looked up to find Connor holding her.

"Cerys," asked Connor, "is this man bothering you?"

"No, it's just a misunderstanding," answered the blonde as she struggled to get up, to get out of Connor's arms. Her voice sounded harsh to her own ears as she continued, "Let go. I'm fine."

The young man disappeared back into the club. The woman stared at Connor for a moment. In the distance, Danny hollered something that sounded like hurry up.

"Thanks for helping me," whispered the woman softly as Connor walked across the street. She hurried to catch up, wondering if he'd even heard her.

-x-x-x-x-x-x


	8. Family Matters

Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me. This is fan fiction, not for profit.

Any references to people, places, businesses, etc. are entirely fictitious.

Family Matters

-x-x-x-x-x-x

The third week in July, the blonde moved out of the posh high rise and into a small furnished efficiency flat closer to the ARC. She packed her clothing and the few personal items she had into a small assortment of shopping bags and the black rucksack she had brought through time. Sarah and Danny dropped her off at the new place after work.

"Oi Trouble," called Danny as he set down her bags inside the flat. He made a pretense of rubbing his back in pain. "What have you got in here? Rocks?"

The blonde shook her head with a laugh as the lanky red head turned towards the door. Sarah put her hands on her hips and looked around the flat, assessing it with a critical eye. The barely furnished flat must have met some unknown criteria, as the archeologist smiled in satisfaction.

"Do you want us to pick you up Monday morning?" asked Sarah as she moved to follow Danny out of the tiny flat.

The petite woman shook her head and set the orchid plant she had brought from the ARC on the kitchenette counter. She knew that Sarah and Danny had gone out of their way to give her a ride every morning for the past several weeks.

"No, you shouldn't have to leave so early," replied the blue eyed woman. "I'm close enough to walk in good weather and there's a tube station near if the weather is bad."

"Sleeping in," said Danny with a sound of pleasure. He stopped in the open doorway, looked over his shoulder and chuckled. "I could get used to that."

Sarah smirked and swatted his backside playfully.

"Time to go home now," said Sarah. The archeologist looked over her shoulder at the woman standing all alone in the flat. "Call us if you need anything."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

The woman went to a smaller gym near her new flat on Saturday afternoon. This family oriented gym didn't have all the fancy equipment of the other upscale gym, but it had an indoor pool in the lower reaches of the building and a variety of different programs for adults and children. She read the activity schedule while she waited for Jack to arrive.

"There you are Sis," greeted Jack. "Sorry I'm late."

It wasn't until they were sparring, that the woman learned the reason for Jack's delay.

"Usually, Connor takes both of the children to the library on Saturday," explained her pseudo brother, "but Tommy has been teething and he's been a bit fussy, so today he just took little Sarah. I watched Tommy and waited at home until Connor returned to leave."

"How old are the children?" asked the blonde as she aimed a high kick towards the sandy haired man's chin.

"Tommy's going to be one in August," replied Jack as he blocked the blow. "And Sarah turned four a few months back. She'll be starting nursery school in September."

The woman swallowed remembering the picture she had seen on Connor's workstation. She hadn't realized that it was a recent photo, hadn't realized how young the children actually were. She spun around and aimed another kick at Jack's hip. He blocked the kick and returned one of his own.

"There's a yoga class here on Tuesday nights," she mentioned, changing the subject. "I think I'll check it out."

"Ouch!" exclaimed the sandy haired man. He gaped up at her. Her kick had knocked Jack back on the mat. The blonde reached down and stretched out her hand to help him back up.

"You sound surprised," said the blue eyed woman. "Didn't your sister ever try anything like yoga?"

"Actually," answered Jack rubbing his jaw, "she did."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Jess sighed and held the cell phone away from her ear. The excitable voice on the other end kept talking. Finally Jack took a deep breath and Jess took that opportunity to speak.

"Jack," replied Jess, "I haven't been to yoga class in nearly a year, and I don't think Connor has taken Sarah to family swim night since… since…"

"I know he hasn't," agreed Jack. "Which is why I need your help. Just ask Becker. Please?"

Jess shook her head and glanced into the living room where her husband was sitting on the floor with little Georgie. Father and son were concentrating on picking up brightly colored blocks and slipping them one by one into a yellow container.

"At work Hil says they hardly ever talk," said Jess lowering her voice. "And when they do, she always calls Connor by his last name."

"We've got to try," insisted the voice on the cell phone.

"Jack, I think you're trying too hard," suggested Jess. "You just can't force two people together."

"Just ask Becker," repeated Jack stubbornly. "Please?"

A few minutes later, Jess closed the cell phone with a snap. The brunette shook her head at the thought of Jack's idea, but Jess had to admit she was curious to meet the woman. Jess picked up her glass of water and moved from the kitchen to join her family in the living room.

"Hil," said Jess as she sat down on the sofa near him, "I was thinking about starting back up with yoga glasses at the gym. Need to keep my shape you know."

Hazel eyes looked up at her words. Jess wondered if her husband even remembered the few times she went with Abby to yoga. The two pregnant women had laughed about keeping in shape while changing shape. Abby had gone to yoga classes weekly up until Tommy had been born.

"Your shape is just fine," assured Becker, his voice sounding a bit husky, "and if you want to go to yoga class, that's fine too."

"The pool at the gym has family swim at the same time as the yoga class," continued Jess. She smiled brightly. "Maybe you and Georgie…"

Her husband's face lit up with a grin.

"That's a great idea!" interrupted Becker. "And I'll call Connor, see if he wants to bring Tommy and Sarah."

"Brilliant," answered Jess.

The young mother bent her head down to take a sip of her water and hide her surprise. That hadn't been hard at all.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Om." The sound reverberated through the room as sixteen women repeated the chant at the end of yoga class.

The refugee from another time began to roll up her green yoga mat. The blonde had come to the class for three weeks now. At her first session some of the regulars in the class had commented that she looked a lot like one of their friends. She had smiled and shrugged it off with a comment about just having one of those faces.

"Hi," greeted the petite brunette on the next mat over. "I didn't get to introduce myself earlier. I'm Jess."

"Cerys," replied the woman shortly.

The brightly clad brunette, wearing tangerine leggings and a white top splashed with rainbow patterns, had been greeted with excitement from the regulars at the beginning of class. The time traveler gathered that the popular brunette was just now returning after having had a baby. There was something familiar about the vivacious woman, but the herpetologist couldn't remember where she'd seen her before.

"I think you work with my husband," continued Jess as she rolled up her mat. "Hilary Becker."

The blonde rocked back on her heels in surprise. Then she grinned broadly as she remembered where she had seen the brunette before.

"You're that Jess!" exclaimed the blue eyed woman. "Becker talks about you all the time."

The two women continued chatting as they left the yoga studio together. In the lobby area, Becker was waiting. His black sleeveless t-shirt was damp like his hair and the long black swim trunks he wore were still dripping. The soldier held Georgie cradled in one arm and a seated infant float toy with his other hand.

"Have you been waiting long?" asked Jess as she took the chubby cheeked baby from her husband. "Did Georgie like the pool?"

"Not long," said Becker with a grin. "And you know how much he loves splashing in his bath, Georgie loved it."

The blonde looked around curiously, she had hoped to see Connor with his children.

"Where's Connor?" asked Jess.

"He's already taken Sarah and Tommy home," answered the soldier.

A little sigh of disappointment escaped Jess.

"Oh, and we've got an invitation for dinner Saturday," continued Becker. He glanced at the woman dressed in blue leggings and a t-shirt standing beside his wife. "You too Maitland. We need all the help we can get. Connor's family is coming to visit."

"What?" asked the woman in confusion.

"Connor's parents" explained Jess. "Really it's his mother mostly… I'm sure she means well, but…"

"They keep trying to convince Connor that he needs to leave London," continued Becker, "bring the children and come home with them."

"Connor's parents? Oh that is just too weird," replied the woman shaking her head. "My husband's parents died when he was a boy. His Gran raised him."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Don't get your knickers in a twist," said Jack. "It's just going to be people you know from the ARC and Connor's family."

"But I've never met Connor's family before," hissed the blue eyed woman. As they approached the green door of the scientist's home her short red skirt swished against her bare legs. "What do they know about me?"

"Well Connor has told them that you're my baby sister, but they've never met you," replied Jack. "So nothing really."

Jack opened the door. The woman had a brief glimpse of a cozy living room to one side of the hallway. Stairs led up to the floor above, but she followed Jack down the hall to the spacious eat-in kitchen. Danny was filling plastic cups on a tray. A man who looked very much like Connor stood beside the sink.

"Cerys," introduced Jack, "this is Connor's brother, Cormac this is Cerys."

The man's eyes opened wide. He blinked, and then he nodded and muttered something indistinguishable in greeting and hurried outside into the hot August afternoon. The woman turned to Jack.

"Is he always like that?" asked the blonde.

"Ehh...," her pseudo brother replied with a shrug. "He's Cormac. They're twins, but they're nothing alike."

At her puzzled look, Jack continued. "Cormac's not brilliant like Connor is... he's sort of... dull."

"Who else is out there?" asked the woman changing the conversation.

Jack looked out through the kitchen window and started pointing out people and naming them. The brunette standing next to Cormac was his wife Juliet. The boy racing through the yard was their son David. The older woman sitting in a lawn chair in the tiny backyard was Connor's mother and the pudgy man in the next chair over was Connor's father.

"I recognize Connor's daughter from her picture," said the woman. "And that's Georgie and Tommy in the paddling pool."

"Yeah," replied Jack. "The other guests haven't arrived yet."

"Good thing," commented the woman, "I don't think the back yard could hold anyone else."

She had to step to one side to let Danny reach the sink. The tall man began filling a pitcher with water.

"Hey, take the tray when you go out," said Danny with a smirk. He nodded towards the red cups. "Becker's out there trying to keep Connor from burning down the neighborhood."

"Hope Becker's got a fire extinguisher," laughed Jack. The sandy-haired man picked up the drinks and opened the back door. The blonde glanced back to Danny.

"What about you?" asked the blonde. "Aren't you coming outside?"

She tried not to laugh at Danny's horrified expression.

"God no," replied the former copper. "I'm staying in here where it's safe."

Outside, Jack left the blonde to go join Connor in front of the grill. Jess and Sarah waved her over. She sat in a lawn chair beside the two little boys sitting and splashing in a couple of inches of water in the green plastic pool and started chatting. A few minutes later, the woman felt someone's presence. She looked around and found Connor's daughter staring at her. She gasped. The dark eyes regarding her so seriously were exactly like Connor's.

"Gran says you look like my Mummy," said the small girl, "but she's wrong, my Mummy is prettier."

The child flounced off leaving the blonde gaping. Sarah reached over and patted her knee.

"Don't worry," soothed Sarah. "All children think their Mummy is the most beautiful woman."

"Don't we look exactly alike," asked the woman, "except that I'm younger?"

"You're not exactly alike," said Jess. "Abby quit coloring her hair after the cretaceous. The natural gold blonde color is different from your white blonde hair."

"I don't color my hair," protested the blonde.

Both Sarah and Jess raised their eyebrows at this remark. Sarah patted the woman's knee once more.

"Neither do we," replied the archeologist with a smirk.

Any further protests the blonde might have made were stopped by the return of little Sarah. The little girl was carrying a framed picture. The brown eyed child held the close up of her mother towards the woman.

"See," demanded the little girl.

The woman gazed at the picture. There were other differences besides hair color. The woman in the photo had a warm smile and the skin around her twinkling blue eyes crinkled with laugh lines. The child's mother looked happy in the picture. The woman remembered her own reflection in the mirror as she put on her make up earlier this morning.

"You're right Sarah," agreed the woman, "your Mummy is much prettier."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Connor squirted the flames of the barbeque grill with water and then added another burger. Jack had muttered something about being a waiter and taken the tray of cooked burgers to the picnic table. Becker leaned against the back fence with his arms crossed watching the flames intently. Cormac's wife came up to stand beside Connor.

"You didn't tell us the Maitland woman looked so much like Abby," stated Juliet.

Connor glanced across the small backyard filled with family and friends. The woman was sitting with Sarah and Jess beside the paddling pool.

"Don't see the resemblance myself," replied Connor with a shrug, "but they are family."

His sister-in-law rolled her eyes.

"Connor, sometimes you can be so thick. You can't miss the resemblance!" exclaimed Juliet. "Your Mum is worried…"

This time Connor rolled his eyes. He started flipping the burgers on the grill.

"Mum is always worried about something," the brown eyed man replied.

"She's worried that you're going to fall for her," continued Juliet, "because she looks so much like Abby."

Connor stiffened. He gazed very intently on the burgers and flames in front of him. The slight clenching of his jaw was barely noticeable.

"Haven't all of you been saying I need to start dating?" asked Connor.

"Yes," sighed Juliet. "You need to get on with your life Connor, but she's… she's…"

"She's what?" asked Connor turning towards his sister-in-law with a puzzled look.

"She's too young," replied Juliet. "She's at least ten years younger than you."

"Eleven," corrected Connor.

"Not helping Conn."

The soldier's voice startled both Connor and Juliet. They hadn't realized Becker was paying attention to their conversation.

"Tell Mum to quit worrying," continued Connor. "We work together. We're just friends."

"Right," said Juliet. She didn't look convinced, but turned and left.

Connor resumed squirting flames and flipping burgers. Becker uncrossed his arms and shifted his stance, stepping closer to his friend.

"Isn't that what you told your parents about Abby," asked Becker, "that you were just friends?"

-x-x-x-x-x-x


	9. Friends?

Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me. This is fan fiction, not for profit.

Any references to people, places, businesses, etc. are entirely fictitious.

Friends?

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Monday morning at the ARC, the woman was called to Lester's office. As she strode through the hub, she was disappointed to see that Connor hadn't arrived yet. Lester waved her in to his office. The bureaucrat opened his briefcase and rummaged through it quickly.

"Here, Miss Maitland," said Lester as he held out photographs of Sid and Nancy towards her. "The boys said you wanted to know how the diictodons were doing."

"Thanks," replied the blonde.

"And this is their way of apologizing," continued Lester, "for the water battle, and…"

"Not necessary," said the woman pasting an extra bright smile on her face.

The super soaker squirt cannons that Lester's boys had brought to the backyard picnic had been a good bit of summer fun. Connor's nephew had taken the water squirting up a notch though when he had turned on the hose. And the boy had soaked his uncle and others when Connor had moved to take the hose away from him. The woman wasn't about to tell Lester that the sight of Connor with a wet shirt clinging to his body was one of the best parts of her summer.

"Getting soaked actually felt good on that hot day," she said. The woman hesitated a moment, her smile faltered, and then she added, "I understand now, what you meant... about why I had to change my name, after meeting all of Connor's family, his brother, sister-in-law, father, and especially his mother."

The green eyes that gazed at her looked surprised. Lester sat down at his desk and closed the briefcase.

"Connor's Mum, an annoying woman, wears a lot of polyester," muttered Lester with a small cringe. He sighed and placed the briefcase on the floor.

"It wasn't for them you know," continued Lester as he straightened back up. "They're all adults, at least I think they are."

"Then why?"

"You had to change your name for the sake of Connor's daughter," answered Lester. "She's old enough to remember her mother. And the staff psychologist said…"

"We have a staff psychologist?" interrupted the blonde.

Lester stopped talking and started turning pages of his desk calendar. He made a tutting noise.

"Yes, annual health and safety assessment evaluations for all staff are due next week," said Lester. "You will need to have a psychological evaluation."

"What?" her voice rose higher in a tone of disbelief.

"You've been displaced from your original timeline," said the director softly, "wandering through time for who knows how many months with Danny…"

The jacket of his pinstriped suit crinkled as Lester shuddered.

"Just having to put up with Danny could drive a person off the deep end," the bureaucrat remarked. "I don't know how Sarah manages."

"Does everyone have a psych evaluation?" asked the blue eyed woman.

"No," answered Lester, "mainly we're checking for post-traumatic stress disorder or out and out madness like Helen Cutter displayed."

"I don't have PTSD and I'm not a homicidal maniac!" huffed the blue eyed woman.

"I didn't say you were," responded Lester, "but you weren't here for the last quarterly evaluation. It's just routine. This quarter, it's just you, and Connor's follow up of course."

There was a momentary silence as the woman registered what Lester had just said.

"Connor's follow up?" she repeated softly.

Lester folded his hands before him and looked at her a bit sternly.

"You didn't hear me say that. Privacy," reminded her boss. Lester sighed. "Health and safety guidelines indicate we follow staff with significant personal trauma for a year at least, longer if needed."

The blonde glanced away from Lester so he wouldn't see her blinking away tears. She swallowed, then squared her jaw and pretended to smile again. She was determined to act happy, to act as if nothing was bothering her.

"So why doesn't Danny need a psych eval?" asked the blonde with a smirk. "He's been travelling through time just as long as me, longer actually."

"He was a copper," replied Lester, "after that, nothing in time is likely to phase him."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Jenny found the woman in the break room at the ARC on Tuesday morning. The blonde was staring at the microwave as the cup inside spun round and round. She looked up as Jenny came into the room.

"Welcome back," said the blonde. "How was your vacation?"

"How was your weekend?" asked Jenny. The chestnut haired woman moved to pick up a mug.

"You first," replied the woman in a teasing tone.

"Oh, it was sort of weird," replied Jenny, "meeting Michael's parents for the first time."

"Yeah," smirked the blonde, "I know what you mean."

Jenny gave a throaty chuckle as she poured coffee into her cup. She had been sorry to miss Connor's barbecue, but her plans with Michael came first.

"Brave woman! You survived meeting the Temples for the first time," said Jenny, "and lived to tell about it."

The woman shook her head and gave a rueful smile.

"Danny said almost the same thing," chuckled the displaced time traveler. She paused for a moment before continuing. "It was just weird. They all kept talking about Abby as if she's someone else, but I'm Abby too."

Blue eyes looked up at Jenny.

"Am I so different from her?"

Jenny stopped stirring her steaming beverage and set the sugar canister down on the counter before looking up at the woman.

"The way I see it," replied the public relations expert, "you're the same Abby I met when I first started working at the ARC."

Jenny leaned back against the counter.

"But Abby changed," continued Jenny, "after the cretaceous, when she came back, she was the same person, but stronger, tougher. She had to be, to survive in that awful place."

"And Connor?" asked the woman.

"Do you remember when I first met Cutter, how he kept telling me I was someone else?" reminded Jenny with a chuckle. "He told me I was really a woman named Claudia Brown."

"Yeah," replied the woman. "I remember."

"I heard Connor talking with Cutter about changes to the timeline, as if they thought there was only one timeline," continued Jenny. "Cutter told Connor that some people never change. The professor was sort of right, but sort of wrong too. People do change over time."

The woman was silent for a moment. Then the head of white blonde hair nodded. The Connor Temple of this timeline wasn't the adorable, nerdy young geek she had married, but rather the adorable, brilliant, responsible man he had grown to be. Sarah walked in to the break room just then and Jenny turned to the archeologist for support.

"Do you think our young friend is like Abby?" asked the public relations expert.

"You're asking the wrong person," replied Sarah. "You should ask Connor."

"Maybe I will," said the woman with a bright smile.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Danny came in the break room as Cerys left with her cup. He looked at Sarah and Jenny standing together.

"What are you two up to?" asked the lanky red head. He strode over to the counter and reached for the coffee pot. Sarah shook her head, but Jenny spoke first.

"Just girl talk," said Jenny sounding wistful. She shook herself, straightened up and picked up her mug. "Back to work now."

The public relations expert left the break room leaving Danny and Sarah alone together.

"So what were you two talking about?" asked Danny.

"Trouble," replied Sarah. "She was asking about Abby."

Danny's eyebrows went up.

"And what did you tell her?" asked the former copper.

"To talk to Connor," replied Sarah. She tossed her dark hair over her shoulder and stared at him. "Don't look so surprised, he's the expert on Abby."

"Brilliant," replied Danny with a smile.

"Danny, do you think," began Sarah hesitantly, "I mean, it took so long last time... and this time, it's not even..."

"Just give it time," said Danny softly. His big knuckled hand reached for Sarah's smaller hand and drew it closer, upward. A feather light kiss pressed against the archeologist's fingertips. "I believe in love. And you should too."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Summer bank holiday found the woman and Jack sparring in the gym again. The petite blonde crooked her elbow and brought her arm sweeping across her forehead, brushing the sweat out of her blue eyes. Jack was bent over huffing, his hands on his knees.

"You know this place does have a swimming pool," suggested Jack as he straightened up. A trickle of sweat dripped down the side of his face.

"Yeah, I know," replied blonde. She hadn't had a chance to talk to Connor in private all week and the scientist had taken his children to the shore for the holiday weekend. The displaced time traveller really couldn't think why Jack had stayed in London during a heat wave. She narrowed her eyes. "If you like swimming, why didn't you go with Connor and the children?"

"Got to watch out for my sister now," replied Jack. He leaned back against the wall and grinned at her.

"I'm not your sister," hissed the blonde.

The grin disappeared from the sandy haired man's face.

"And from what I heard at the barbeque last weekend," continued the woman "you weren't all that close to your sister."

She had stayed glued to her chair on the opposite side of the yard from Connor. During the afternoon, each member of Connor's extended family had managed to make it over to speak with her.

"Hmmmph," muttered Jack, "you talked to everybody at that picnic except Connor. You didn't even say goodbye."

"He was soaked," reminded the woman, "and so was I." She continued to speak, pounding Jack with questions.

"Why are you always watching out for me?"

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

"What do you want from me?"

"I'm not doing anything for you!" exploded Jack.

In the moment of quiet following his outburst, the beautiful blue-eyed woman stared at the sandy haired man before her.

"Do you even listen to yourself?" continued Jack. "You stupid selfish girl! Me, me, me… Nothing I'm doing has anything to do with Abby Elizabeth Westin Temple!"

The blonde swallowed. She hadn't realized Jack had even paid attention months ago when she told Lester her real name.

"I lost everything when I came here," hissed the blonde, "including my name."

"Not everything," retorted Jack. "You're still alive."

He raised his hand tiredly and rubbed his forehead. In a cold quietly bitter tone, he continued.

"Do you know how I found out what happened to Abby?"

The woman shook her head. Jack slid down the wall, slowly coming to sit on the floor. His head rested on his knees, arms wrapped around his legs almost as if in a fetal position.

"Connor called my cell phone," mumbled Jack. "He left three messages, but I was too busy to listen to them. I was in the pub with some mates, drinking and playing cards… and one of them nudges me, points at the telly and says… isn't that your sister?"

"Oh Jack," whispered the woman. She knelt down beside him and started to reach out a hand to touch him, but he brought his head up to gaze at her.

"My big sister, Abigail… Sarah… Maitland… Temple," said Jack, pronouncing each name distinctly, "loved me. I don't know why. I wasn't the best brother… not by a long shot."

His voice was silent for a moment as he remembered some of the things he'd done, some of the trouble, some of the hurt, he'd caused.

"You know the first time I met Connor," Jack's voice echoed through the empty gym. "Abby chucked him out of the flat just to give me a place to stay."

"That never happened in my time," began the woman, but he cut her off.

"Yeah I know," interrupted Jack. "You and your Connor had your perfectly happy life together when I wasn't around."

"And without you around that first time at the racetrack," whispered the woman, "we went through the anomaly to that future world. We saw Helen and wound up chasing after her, to the cretaceous … and Connor…"

Her voice trailed off. Jack gaped at her as he processed her words.

"So you mean that Connor is alive, because of me?" asked the sandy haired man.

The woman couldn't bring herself to speak, but she gave a small nod.

"But don't blame yourself for what happened to your sister," she added hastily.

"Of course not, that was the train," said Jack. He leaned back against the wall. "So instead of messing up their relationship, I saved Connor's life?"

"Yeah," agreed the woman with another small nod.

"So does that mean I'm a hero?" asked Jack with a smirk.

"Don't push it Jack."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

On a morning in early September, the blonde was kicking her heels back and forth while seated on the hard plastic waiting room chair in the health and safety office. Connor came out of the examining room. The psychiatrist followed Connor out and murmured something about being right back before hurriedly exiting the waiting room. The blonde exchanged a glance with Connor. They both wound up chuckling at the man's odd behavior.

"Maybe it was something I said," joked Connor. His face turned up in a rueful grin.

"How are you doing?" asked the woman softly. Connor rolled his shoulders

"According to that bloke I'm doing fantastic," replied Connor, "and actually, I have you to thank."

"Me?"

"Yeah," replied Connor. "When you arrived in 2019 London, I started having bad dreams about the cretaceous again. But those old dreams don't wake me up, so they don't count as nightmares. According to the doctor, that's an improvement."

The psychiatrist arrived then and Connor left. The blonde followed the doctor into the examining room determined not to discuss her nightmares.

"Glad to hear that Temple's doing better," said the petite woman as she sat down in the chair opposite the psychiatrist.

"Yes, yes, he's moving on with his life," replied the doctor. He flipped some pages on a file and jotted something down.

"Moving on?"

"Dating again is a good sign," replied the man, he looked up at the woman and frowned, "but really now we're here to talk about you."

-x-x-x-x-x-x


	10. Dates

Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me. This is fan fiction, not for profit.

Any references to people, places, businesses, etc. are entirely fictitious.

Dates

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Saturday afternoon, a high arching kick connected with Jack's chest and knocked him flat on his back. He started coughing and rubbed the area between his pectoral muscles.

"What's with you?" demanded Jack.

The petite blonde leaned forward and offered him a hand, pulling him to his feet as she had so many times over the past few months.

"You weren't paying attention," replied the woman.

"Was too," objected Jack. "But you're not sparring for exercise, you're in full out fight mode."

Jack's comment reminded her of what the psychiatrist had said about fight, flight or freeze responses. Her plan to not tell the psychiatrist about her nightmares had backfired big time. The ARC's psychiatrist had talked about denial, conflict avoidance, something that sounded like dysthymia, and a host of other weird words. The final recommendation was for therapy and continued follow up.

"Just frustrated," answered the blond. "The shrink insists I need to go to counselling sessions. Do you believe that?"

"So you're upset, I get it," replied Jack. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and prepared to back up quickly if needed as he asked another question. "Does it have anything to do with Connor having a date?"

"No," lied the woman.

From all reports, Connor's holiday weekend with the Becker family had been fun and relaxing. Jess had told her at yoga class about their shared holiday. Walks along the shore, sand castles and splashing in gentle waves by day. Saturday night, Becker's mother had offered to babysit all three children after dinner. Jess, Becker and Connor had gone out and met Becker's sister and brother-in-law for drinks. A recently divorced friend had joined the group listening to a local band. Music, laughter, it was all good.

"The way I heard it, it wasn't really a date, just drinks with family and friends," continued the blonde. "A night out probably did Connor good."

"You're right. I agree, a night out would be good for Connor," said Jack. "That's why I'm babysitting tonight."

"What?" Her blue eyes opened wide, and she couldn't help the way her voice went up in surprise.

"That friend of Becker's sister," answered Jack, "she lives here in London. Near here actually. Connor's taking her out tonight."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Late Saturday night, the green door opened and Connor quietly entered his home. Jack was waiting up, sort of.

"Wake up," hissed Connor. He swatted his brother-in-laws legs knocking them off the sofa. Jack blinked and groaned a bit, then sat up and blinked some more. Connor first pointed at the little pink bundle on the floor, then at the little blue bundle in the play pen. "Why aren't they in bed?"

"Alice In Wonderland," answered Jack sleepily. He yawned and stretched, then reached for the remote. The sandy haired man turned off the telly. "I guess we fell asleep."

"You think?" replied Connor rolling his eyes. He knelt down beside the little pink bundle and gathered his daughter and her floppy eared pink bunny rabbit into his arms. "I was going to ask you to babysit again Friday…"

"Oooh hoo," sounded Jack. "You wouldn't go out with anyone for all these months and now look at you."

"I'm choosy," stated Connor as he rose to stand, holding little Sarah. "Didn't want to date those other women."

"What's she like?" asked Jack.

"Smart, fun, has a good sense of humor," started Connor as he moved towards the stairs. Jack picked up Tommy from the playpen and followed the scientist.

"Not much on looks, huh," grunted Jack. "What's this paragon's name?"

Connor stopped walking and turned to frown at Jack.

"Her name is Carol," replied Connor, "and I think she looks great. If you think you can stay up this coming Friday, you can babysit again and meet her when she comes to pick me up."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Jess couldn't relax during yoga class Tuesday night. And maybe it just wasn't her, everyone seemed restless. The instructor dismissed class early. The brunette looked over at her friend rolling up her mat.

"Do you want to come with me?" asked Jess.

"What? Where?"

"To the swimming pool," explained Jess. "Family swim still has another ten minutes, we could watch."

The indoor pool was packed. Jess found Becker almost immediately. The tall soldier was standing in the shallow end of the pool near the entrance. Beside him Georgie and Tommy were riding their float toys and splashing each other happily. It took a moment before the blonde pointed towards Connor. The scientist was further down the length of the pool, standing chest deep in the water, holding out his hands. Jess watched as the blonde leaned forward to see better. The blonde's lips curled up in a smile as Connor caught the little girl leaping from the side of the pool.

"Are you interested in Connor?" asked Jess abruptly.

It wasn't worth trying Jack's crazy idea if the woman didn't care. Wide blue eyes turned towards Jess. The eyes hardened to a steely shade and something inside closed. Jess blinked at the sudden change.

"I really don't know him," answered the woman. She shook her head and pretended to smile. "Anyway, he's dating someone, someone else."

"Drinks with a group of friends doesn't really count as a date," objected Jess.

"Maybe not," agreed the woman, "but getting a babysitter for a night out is a date, and doing it again seems to set a pattern."

"Not necessarily," objected Jess. She looked at the woman expectantly. The field coordinator asked again, "Are you interested in Connor?"

"I want him to be happy," answered the blonde. "You said she was a nice woman, about his age, a divorced mother with two little girls. She sounds great for Connor."

The brunette stared at her new friend. Jess remembered her husband telling her how the woman sometimes acted just like Abby. The woman's evasive response was typical of Jess's best friend as well as the desire for Connor's happiness... even before her own.

"She might be great for Connor, or maybe not," replied Jess. She began to babble. "But if you were interested, in Connor I mean, if you wanted to get to know him, you'd have to talk to him. I mean not just talk about work, and not just call him Temple all the time. Wouldn't you?"

Jess took a deep breath.

"I mean, if you were interested," continued Jess, "you would talk to Connor, right?"

"Have you been talking to Sarah and Jenny?" asked her friend. At Jess's confusion, the woman explained about her previous conversation with the archeologist and the public relations expert in the ARCs break room. "Sarah told me I should ask Connor if I was like his Abby or not."

"What?" asked Jess. "What was Sarah doing at the ARC? She has worked at the British Museum for years now."

"Sarah brought Lester some historical records," replied the blonde. "Then she stopped in the break room to meet with Danny before going back to her job."

Jess pondered this information for a moment, before returning to the main topic of conversation.

"Well, if you are interested, have you?" asked Jess. "Asked Connor I mean."

The woman started to answer, but the lifeguard blew his whistle then. Parents and children started scrambling out of the pool. Becker was left standing with the two boys while Connor made his way to the shallow end. The dark haired man swam an easy breast stroke with his daughter riding on his back, her tiny arms around his neck. When he got to the steps he twisted to let her climb off.

"Go get your towel Princess," said Connor as he reached for Tommy on his float toy. The scientist followed his daughter out of the pool. Becker and Georgie were right behind them.

"Hil," called Jess, "over here."

"What are you doing here?" asked the Captain. His lips curled up in a smile and the baby he carried kicked his heels and started babbling incoherent sounds.

"Yoga ended early tonight," explained Jess stepping closer to her husband. Becker leaned down for a kiss and Georgie reached chubby wet hands out for his mother.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

The blonde turned to look away. She saw Connor walk over to where little Sarah stood by a table. The scientist balanced Tommy on his hip and began pulling towels out of a large blue bag. In the distance, a door slammed shut. Connor looked up at the sound and sighed.

"What's wrong?" asked the blonde stepping closer so as not to have to raise her voice.

"Nothing really, just Mrs. Gibson got to the family changing room first," answered Connor. "Usually I take the children out of the pool a little early so we can get a head start on drying off and changing, but tonight…"

Connor shrugged.

"We'll have to wait."

"I don't understand," replied the woman.

"There's only one family changing room," explained Connor.

"I still don't understand," replied the woman. "Why don't you change in the locker rooms?"

"I can't go in the lady's locker room," replied Connor simply, "and I won't take Sarah in the men's locker room."

The woman glanced at the child. Little Sarah was starting to shiver now that she was out of the pool and the round cheeked baby Connor carried was beginning to show goosebumps.

"You can take Tommy to the men's locker room, while I take Sarah to the lady's locker room," suggested the woman in a rush of words. "After all, Auntie's are supposed to help, right?"

Connor looked startled at the idea, but then he turned to his daughter.

"Sarah," asked Connor, "will you go with Auntie Cerys and let her help you get dried off and dressed?"

The child nodded and the woman found herself unexpectedly holding a small hand. Connor handed her a pink bag with dry clothing. He looked nervous.

"There's shampoo and detangler in the bag," said Connor, "and a hairbrush…"

"Temple, relax," said the woman with a smirk. "I know how to do the girl thing."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Jess and Georgie joined the woman in the lady's locker room a few minutes later.

"Really I don't know how Connor manages," said Jess as she stripped off the baby's wet swim diaper and started to give him a warm rinse in the sink. "It's hard enough changing one child."

The woman rolled her eyes. Little Sarah had insisted on rinsing off in the big girls shower, and the wriggling child was now warmly wrapped in a towel as the blonde brushed out Sarah's soft brown hair. In short order the two children were dried and dressed. Jess held open the locker room door.

"Think about what Jack asked," whispered Jess as the woman walked through.

-x-x-x-x-x-x


	11. Plus One?

Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me. This is fan fiction, not for profit.

Any references to people, places, businesses, etc. are entirely fictitious.

Plus One?

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Friday evening the woman took a deep breath and told herself again that she wasn't being a total idiot, even if Jack's idea was idiotic. She squared her shoulders, strode up the walkway to the green door and tapped lightly.

"Hey Sis," greeted Jack as the door swung open. He gave the refugee from another time a conspiratorial wink. "I'm really glad you can help me babysit Sarah and Tommy tonight."

"Laying it on a little thick aren't you?" hissed the blonde quietly.

In her time, the woman had been a newlywed. The blonde recognized the similarities between her young husband and the man he had grown to be in this timeline, but she couldn't see herself in the Abby Temple of this time. Getting to know Connor's children was Jack's idea. She stepped inside the warm home and glanced around. In the living room she could see books scattered across a low table in front of the sofa. Soft music sounded from a CD player placed high on a desk in the far corner of the room. Children's toys peeked over the edge of a large wicker basket beneath the table where a reptile tank sat near the front window. Music and reptiles reminded her of home, but the books on the table didn't look like Connor's paleontology books or her paperback novels, and the basket of toys was just weird.

"I thought you wanted me to help babysit. Where are Sarah and Tommy?" asked the woman.

"Connor's upstairs," replied Jack, "tucked the kiddies in and getting ready. You're late. I was beginning to think you weren't going to show up."

"They're asleep already? It's not even eight," said the blonde, "Maybe I should leave…"

"But you're here," objected Jack. "You might as well stay and help me out."

After a moment's hesitation, the petite woman slipped out of her jacket and handed the cordovan leather garment to her pseudo brother. The man hung her jacket on a hook on the nearby hall tree.

"I shouldn't be here when his date arrives," began the woman, "I don't want to mess this up for him, if she makes him happy…"

"I haven't met her yet," interrupted Jack, "so I can't tell if she makes Connor happy or not."

The doorbell rang then and they both turned to face the entrance. Jack moved away from the hallway and peered through the peep hole in the door.

"If that's her, she's early," said Jack. The doorbell rang again.

"You better let her in before she wakes the children," hissed the blonde.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

The tall brunette sauntered into the home. Hips swayed as her heels clicked on the shining wooden floor.

"Hello," gushed the newcomer, "I'm Carol. You must be Jack. Connor's told me so much about you."

Jack forced his eyes up from the woman's generous bosom to see her hazel eyes staring at him critically. Connor had been right when he said his date looked great. Shining dark hair was pulled to one side, ringlets cascaded over her left shoulder. Little gold hoops flashed at her ears. The dark red lips parted in an inviting smile as she extended her neatly manicured hand towards the sandy haired man. He gulped.

"Yeah, I'm Jack," agreed the thirty year old. He found himself shaking her hands. And then he found himself listening carefully as she leaned towards him.

"I think you can let go now," whispered Carol with a tiny smirk. "And maybe you could introduce me to the woman standing behind you."

Jack dropped Carol's hand immediately. He turned to look at the blonde and flashed her an embarrassed grin.

"Right, um Carol," said Jack hastily, "this is my sister Cerys."

"What? I thought Connor was a widower," asked the brunette in confusion. Carol stepped closer to the blonde. "Are you two divorced? Or just separated?"

"Um uh yeah," stammered the blonde, "I mean no!"

"Cerys is my baby sister," clarified Jack, before the blonde could say anything. "Connor was married to my older sister."

"So Connor is a widower," said Carol as if she still needed to make sure.

"Yeah," replied the blonde.

But the petite blue eyed woman was no longer looking at the new arrival. Her head tilted up. Connor was coming down the stairs. Jack felt a momentary pang of envy as he turned to watch his brother-in-law's descent. The sandy haired man had put on a few pounds over the past ten years. Regular exercise kept Jack's weight gain from getting out of hand, but Connor never seemed to gain an ounce.

"Connor," greeted Carol, "are you ready for the theater?"

The dark haired scientist was wearing a long sleeved blue v-necked shirt that clung to his firm chest. Tight gray jeans showed off his narrow hips. The casual look suited Connor. Jack glanced back at Connor's date. Carol's stylish low cut white dress peeked out between the lapels of her unbuttoned red trench coat. Connor came down the last few steps to stand in the entryway, but he didn't answer Carol's question at first.

"Hi Cerys," said Connor. "What are you doing here tonight?"

"Jack asked me to come over," replied the blonde with a little shrug of her shoulders.

"To help babysit," added Jack quickly.

Carol reached out and tugged on Connor's sleeve. Dark brown eyes turned from looking at the petite blonde standing to the tall brunette beside Connor.

"Are we still going to the theater?" asked Carol.

"I did say local theater," reminded Connor. "You might be a bit overdressed. Would you like to go somewhere else?"

"No," assured Carol, "I picked where we went last time. Tonight we do something you want."

"Are you sure?" asked Connor.

"Yes," insisted his date as she stepped closer to the scientist. She smiled and dropped her voice to whisper suggestively, "Anything you want."

Connor's Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he gulped. To Jack's eyes, his brother-in-law suddenly looked nervous.

"What show are you going to?" asked Jack hastily. Connor flashed a grin at Jack.

"It's a stage version of Shaun of the Dead," answered Connor, "with special sneak preview scenes from the fifteenth year special anniversary 3D version of the movie."

"I'm not familiar with the movie," commented the brunette. "What's it about?"

"It's a zombie movie, a horror spoof actually," said Connor. At Carol's appalled look, he added, "But really more of a comedy."

"It was a romantic comedy," protested the blonde, "with a few zombies thrown in."

Connor moved his gaze from Carol to the blonde. Carol and Jack also turned to look in her direction.

"Are you familiar with the movie?" asked Carol.

"I loved that movie," blurted out the blonde. She flushed. "I mean the original, of course, haven't seen the new anniversary special."

"You hardly look old enough to have seen the original," remarked Carol dryly.

"My husband had it on DVD," replied the younger woman. "We used to take turns choosing films for movie night."

"Every Thursday," said Connor with a smile at the memory.

"Wednesday's," breathed the blonde.

There was an awkward silence. Jack glanced at Carol and wasn't surprised to see her face scrunched up in a puzzled expression.

"Family tradition," announced Jack loudly. "Both my sisters insisted on doing a family movie night. If I ever get married, I'll probably have movie night on Wednesday's and Thursday's both. Maybe Friday too."

Both Connor and the blonde shot Jack a glance with an indecipherable expression that might have been a thank you or might have been a what on earth are you thinking of look, but Connor's date just frowned. The brunette turned to face Connor and reached for his arm.

"Connor," said Carol firmly. "We should be going, yeah."

"Let me grab my coat," insisted Connor.

The temporal expert loosened his arm from Carol's grasp and moved to the hall tree. Connor's fingers reached into the pockets of his old black coat and grabbed the fingerless gloves tucked inside. The scientist slipped the gloves on and then reached for the coat again, knocking his fedora off the hook above. The blonde bent to retrieve the hat.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Saturday morning, the woman met Sarah at a coffee shop near her flat. The two friends were going shopping again. This time for something special to wear for Jenny's wedding.

"Seriously?" asked Sarah. Her incredulous tone was hard to miss. "You just handed Connor the hat. Without a word? You didn't say anything?"

"What was I supposed to say?" asked the woman in return. "My husband had a hat just like that? Or you look great? Go have fun on your date?"

The archeologist took a sip of her latte, before answering.

"Did Connor say anything about his night out when he got back?" asked Sarah.

The blonde shook her head and set down her teacup.

"Dunno. I asked Jack if he really needed help babysitting or not, he didn't," explained the blonde. "I left ten minutes after Connor and his date went out."

The shop door opened and Jess hurried in. She was smiling brightly and bubbling with excitement.

"Are you ready?" said Jess with a bright smile. "Do you know what shops you want to go to first?"

"We thought we'd finish with this shop first," chuckled Sarah raising her latte in the air for Jess to see, "before we go searching for dresses."

"Dresses and shoes," corrected Jess. The vivacious woman sat down and pulled out a list of shops and a street map. "Sometimes it is a challenge finding the right shoes. Especially shoes for dancing."

Jenny's wedding invitation had arrived several weeks earlier, but the three women had waited until summer ended before going shopping together. Cerys Maitland and guest were invited. The blonde had marked the response card for one person, not two. Aside from Jack, Connor's family and her landlady, everyone she knew in this world would probably be at the wedding.

"The last time I was dancing was at Jenny's birthday party," remarked the blonde. "Before that, I can't even remember when…"

"At that cabin, with the gramophone," interrupted Sarah. The archeologist smiled at the memory. "The fancy dress clothes and jazz music."

"What?" asked the blue eyed woman. "What cabin?"

"Danny said your history was pretty much the same up until the racetrack anomaly. Don't you remember?" asked Sarah. "We hid out from Christine Johnson and got chased by a pack of terror birds."

"The Phorusrhacids?" asked the blonde. "I remember there was a cabin near there, but the anomaly was in the bunker. Who is Christine Johnson? Did she help close the anomaly?"

Sarah's dark eyes looked surprised.

"So you didn't go inside the cabin? You didn't go dancing with Connor there?" asked Sarah. "And he didn't have an awful accident with the SUV?"

The blue eyes facing the archeologist lit up with recognition.

"You mean when Connor forgot to put the parking brake on," replied the blonde. "Of course I remember that. We watched as the SUV rolled backwards down the slope into the minefield and got blown up. Lester was furious!"

"Didn't quite happen the same way here," replied Sarah. "You missed some really great dancing. Shame."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Sometime later in the afternoon, the blonde's cell phone rang, but she didn't hear it. The phone was underneath a small pile of clothing in a dressing room. The blonde was standing in front of a full length mirror with Jess on one side and Sarah on the other.

"That pale green is a good color on you," complimented Sarah. The low cut scoop necked dress looked almost white in the bright light of the boutique. "And the flared skirt will be great for dancing."

"What color shoes were you thinking?" asked Jess. "It's only two weeks until the wedding, I don't think you will be able to get shoes dyed to match the dress that quickly. Black might do, but I think silver would be better."

Later, when she did see the flashing light on her cell phone and Jack's name on the message indicator, the blonde just thought he had forgotten that she had told him she wouldn't make their kickboxing practice today. She didn't listen to the message until she got back to her flat that evening.

"Hey Sis," sounded Jack's voice. "I was just wondering… I know you wear your rings on a chain around your neck."

The sound of nervous laughter was followed by a question. The woman snapped the cell phone shut.

-x-x-x-x-x-x


	12. Suadade

Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me, nor the song "Time of My Life." This is fan fiction, not for profit.

Any references to people, places, businesses, etc. are entirely fictitious.

Suadade

-x-x-x-x-x-x

At work on Monday, the blonde made a point of going to the hub. She really did need Lester's signature on the requisition forms for the additional feed needed in the menagerie. The megalania had a huge appetite. She noticed Connor wasn't at his workstation as she entered Lester's office.

"Temple's late," commented the blonde as she watched Lester signing the forms. The displaced time traveler remembered the Connor she had known. "Probably overslept, or stopped for cappuccino."

The director stopped signing forms. Lester looked up from his desk and gazed at her. One eyebrow arched up.

"Keeping track of Connor's time is my job Miss Maitland," remarked Lester icily. "I'm not reprimanding him for tardiness."

"That's not what I meant," said the woman hastily. Too late, she remembered Connor's schedule had changed with the start of the school year. "It's just that I'm looking for Temple is all, had something I needed to ask."

Lester's expression seemed to thaw just a smidgen at her words.

"The nightshift coordinator is really being supportive," commented Lester. "You might try being a bit more supportive yourself."

"What?" asked the woman. "What do you mean? I'm supportive. I am!"

Lester was facing the papers again, signing away her majesties money. The inelegant sound the bureaucrat made then could only be called a snort.

"When was the last time you talked to Connor?" asked Lester. He frowned a bit. "And asking Connor to fix your cell phone doesn't count."

"Friday night," responded the blue eyed woman triumphantly. It appeared that Lester didn't know everything that happened to the team after hours. "We talked about Shaun of the Dead."

At Lester's confused look, she added, "It's a romantic comedy horror zombie movie."

Lester rolled his eyes and held out the signed requisition forms towards her.

"It's a start," said the bureaucrat before waving his hand in dismissal.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Tuesday afternoon there was an anomaly alert. Matt and Danny left the ARC in the first SUV with some of Becker's men. Becker drove the second SUV with the woman and the locking device. Connor provided instructions over the coms as they drove to Hyde Park.

"The anomaly is over by the Old Police House, but there's been an incursion. Pictures on CCTV show several creatures, possibly dimetrodons," stated the scientist in a crisp tone. "They're on the move, heading northeast. Matt you guys go to Speaker's Corner, drive the creatures back towards the anomaly. Becker, you and Cerys set up the locking device and be ready."

The soldier hauled the heavy locking device out of the SUV. The machine was set up quickly and then there was nothing to do but wait. From the sounds coming through the communication device, it appeared as if the creatures were leading Matt, Danny and the security team on a merry chase through the park.

"We should go help," said the blonde.

"No," snapped Becker. He frowned at her. "We stay here, we follow orders."

The woman looked startled by his harsh tone. Becker took a deep breath trying to maintain his professional calm. He hadn't seen her since the night at the pool last week. It wasn't unusual. The armory and the menagerie were on opposite sides of the hub. And if Becker wanted to avoid someone, it wasn't difficult. The chief of security knew every hiding spot in the ARC.

"Becker," asked the blonde, "is there something wrong?"

The black clad soldier turned abruptly in her direction. Maybe it would be better if he spoke his mind.

"Maitland," snapped Becker, "what do you think you were doing Friday?"

Blue eyes blinked at the harsh tone in his voice.

"Carol is a nice woman," said Becker, "I've known her for years. Do you really think I would have introduced her to Connor if she wasn't alright?"

The soldier took a deep breath and continued on speaking without giving her a chance to reply.

"Going to check out Connor's date was a stupid stunt," continued the soldier. "Jack's a prat, I don't expect him to understand, but you should know better!"

"I wasn't checking out Connor's date," insisted the woman, but Becker wasn't listening.

"Losing someone you love is hard," said Becker.

The soldier remembered one of the hardest discussions he and Jess had ever had. The soldier had laughed at Jess when she had told him he just had to live forever, but he had insisted that they needed to prepare. Buying life insurance and making a will was just good planning. And Becker fervently hoped he never lived to see either used.

"Connor's been trying to carry on and keep Sarah, Tommy and Jack together," continued Becker. "Don't cause him anymore grief! Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Yes!" cried out the woman with a fury that surprised the soldier. "I understand better than you Becker. You've still got Jess! I've lost my husband, my best friend, everybody I ever loved!"

The blonde shook her head as he continued to glower at her.

"You're the one who doesn't understand Becker."

"Just don't go jerking Connor around Maitland," growled the soldier. "He's been through enough. Don't be playing games with him."

The blonde looked confused, as if she didn't understand what Becker was talking about, but neither got a chance to talk anymore as the dimetrodons arrived just then followed by Matt, Danny and the rest of the security team.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Jess waited at the entrance to the yoga class until the instructor said she needed to shut the door. So Jess did, leaving the class behind. The field coordinator tried calling her friend on the cell phone, but reception in the corridor was awful. Jess went to the lower level of the gym. Connor hadn't brought his children swimming tonight as little Sarah seemed to be coming down with a cold. The pool seemed less crowded than usual. Becker and Georgie were still in the pool. But when he saw his wife, the soldier agreed it was time to leave.

"Hil, what exactly did you say to her?" asked Jess as they walked home through the park.

"I told her that checking out Connor's date was a stupid stunt," answered the tall Captain. His wife shook her head.

"That might have been Jack's idea," replied Jess, "but I really think he means well."

"That prat? Really?" asked Becker sarcastically.

"What else did you say?"

"I don't want her doing anything to hurt Connor," replied the soldier.

"She would never!"

"Abby did," replied Becker.

"That's a horrible thing to say! Abby didn't have a choice in dying or not," retorted Jess.

Becker blinked at his wife's anger. Then he realized, Jess had only known Abby and Connor after they returned from the cretaceous. She had never seen them in the early days of their... was it a relationship then?

"I'm not talking about that," replied the soldier. "Years ago, when I first joined the ARC, Abby played hot and cold with Connor. He never knew where he stood with her. Connor was always trying to please her. He'd risk his life for her without even thinking. Do you know how many times I would have to go rescue him? Or both of them?"

Jess remembered reading the old reports when she had first joined the ARC, but it was hard to reconcile those old memories with the stories Becker now told. She was sure she never read about Connor driving a baggage cart to lure a G-Rex before. And there was no record of Connor deliberately calling out to a predator, she would have remembered that.

"I don't want her doing anything to hurt Connor," repeated the soldier.

"And I don't want you doing anything to hurt her," insisted the petite brunette at his side.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Wednesday Connor worked from home on the laptop. He kept Sarah home from school.

Thursday Connor worked from home again, but this time Connor kept Tommy home from childcare.

Friday, Jack called the next door neighbor to take Sarah to school and he played with Tommy downstairs while Connor slept. The scientist stayed home from work with the cold he'd caught from his children.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Saturday afternoon, Jack called. He insisted that the woman join him for kickboxing practice.

"Connor's well enough to handle Sarah and Tommy on his own," wheedled Jack, "and I'll be babysitting next Saturday while you lot are at Jenny and Michael's wedding."

It was after Jack had tripped the blonde up for the second time on what should have been an easy block, that he asked what was wrong. The blonde shook her head.

"No," replied the woman sitting on the mat. "It's silly. You'll think I'm being stupid."

"Never," encouraged her pseudo brother. "You're brilliant."

"The message," reminded the blonde, "that you left on my cell phone last week. You asked when I took off my rings?"

"Yeah," replied Jack. He bent down and retied the laces on his trainer, hiding his face from her as she continued speaking.

"Why?" asked the blonde.

He looked up at her. She seemed to be holding her breath, waiting for his answer.

"Just me being nosy," dissembled Jack. "When she brought Connor back last Friday Carol was talking about her rings."

Jack had greeted the pair upon their return home and then headed upstairs. He doubted that he was supposed to have stopped on the landing. And he was certain he shouldn't have heard Carol's conversation with Connor. Almost feeling like a real big brother, Jack decided he would only tell the blonde part of that conversation.

"Carol said she took her rings off when she got divorced," continued Jack, "and had them remade into those earrings she was wearing."

"Pretty earrings," replied the blonde softly. She shook herself and straightened her shoulders. "As near as I can tell, I took my rings off during the Cenozoic. Some creatures are attracted to shiny things."

"Long time huh," chuckled Jack. He held his hand out and pulled her up to stand. She looked as if she still had something to say. "What?"

"When did Connor stop wearing his wedding ring?" asked the blonde.

"Connor never wore a ring," replied Jack. "Neither did Abby, she said rings got in the way."

"Really?" smiled the blonde. Hmmm, just one more thing different.

The almost siblings resumed sparring, but the blonde was still off.

"Are you coming down with a cold too?" asked Jack.

"No," replied the blue eyed woman, "it's just something Becker said has been bothering me all week."

It took a bit of coaxing, but the story of her argument with Becker finally came out.

"Everyone is so different here," she said finally, "how am I supposed to understand relationships between people when I don't know how they were before?"

"Huh?" grunted Jack.

"Why would Becker think I would hurt Connor?"

"Remember I told you Abby chucked Connor out of the flat when I came to visit," reminded Jack. "That sort of stuff might be what Becker's talking about."

"Why would she do that?" asked the refugee from another timeline. "I'd have made a bed for you on the sofa."

"Abby always felt she had to watch out for me," explained Jack. "Our parents divorced when we were young, neither one was what you would call parent material."

Jack sighed and shook his head.

"Wish I had never reminded Connor of that," muttered Jack.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Jenny and Michael's wedding was held at a mansion north of London. The blonde rode up to the estate with Sarah and Danny. The former copper escorted the two women into the palatial residence.

"Got meself surrounded by two of the most beautiful women in the place," gloated Danny with a cheeky grin as they entered the huge place.

The form fitting aubergine dress Sarah wore was embroidered at the bodice and hemline with tiny sequins that reflected the light. The slit up the side of the skirt allowed the fabric to gently sway with each step the archeologist took.

"You haven't seen Jenny in her dress yet," reminded Sarah. "Remember, this is her day."

Danny flushed.

"That's not what I meant," protested Danny hurriedly. He tried to make amends. "Jenny's lovely too, and bride's are always beautiful, they've got that whole glowing thing going on..."

"Are you sure you're not talking about pregnant women?" asked Sarah with a smirk.

"What?" asked Danny. "Is Jenny pregnant?"

-x-x-x-x-x-x

The blonde followed Danny and Sarah into a large ornate room. Rows of chairs on either side of a central carpet led to the clergyman's dais. The Lester's were already there. The elderly couple in the front row were introduced as Jenny's parents. Across the aisle an assortment of people that were related to Michael in one way or another stood. Jess and Becker arrived then, followed closely by Matt and Emily. The foursome sat in the row behind Sarah, Danny and the woman. Couples continued to arrive and the seat beside her remained empty.

"Where's Connor?" whispered Jess leaning forward.

"Jack said he was babysitting," answered the blonde. Turning her head, she continued, "I know Temple wouldn't miss Jenny's wedding."

The processional music started and everyone moved to stand. There was a sound of rustling and murmured words of excuses. Connor squeezed through the space between the seats and the wall. Soon he was standing beside the woman. She looked at him in surprise. He looked great in his dark suit with his long hair pulled back, but where was his date?

"Hope you don't mind," whispered Connor, "I didn't see any other empty seats."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

After the ceremony, the wedding guests gathered at small round tables on the perimeter of the ballroom. The woman found herself at a table with Danny, Sarah, and Connor. Dinner appeared. Toasts were made. The towering cake was cut. And music played. The bride and groom led the first dance. Soon more and more couples joined as the dancers ebbed and flowed. At their table, Sarah turned to Danny.

"Do you remember dancing at that horrible old cabin when we were hiding from Christine Johnson?" asked Sarah. Danny nodded. The archeologist turned to look at Connor. "Do you remember?"

"The place reminded me of my Gran's," replied Connor with a chuckle. "How could I forget?"

Sarah turned towards the blonde.

"How indeed?" asked Sarah.

The strains of a popular old song that kept being resurrected in various telly shows and song compilations began to play. Danny extended his hand towards Sarah. The archeologist tossed back her dark hair and smiled before placing her fingertips on his hand. They rose together and moved to the dance floor as the opening lyrics began... _now I've_ _had the time of my life..._

"Cerys," asked Connor hesitantly, "would you like to dance?"

The refugee from another time nodded. Together the dark haired man and the beautiful blonde rose and followed Danny and Sarah to the dance floor. The blonde found herself swaying to a rhythm unremembered. Other dancers stepped back to watch the two couples as they expertly moved in time to the music... _you're the one thing... I can't get enough of... so I'll tell you something..._

The music ended. The blonde found herself being lowered to the floor. Connor's arms were around her, she was so close that she was breathing the same air he exhaled. He touched his forehead to hers for just a moment. His dark eyelashes fluttered open as he pulled back. The dark eyes regarding her glistened.

"I've never forgotten dancing," Connor admitted, "or anything really. How could I forget?"

-x-x-x-x-x-x


	13. Believe

Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me. This is fan fiction, not for profit.

Any references to people, places, businesses, etc. are entirely fictitious.

Believe

-x-x-x-x-x-x

She found Connor later on the balcony. They had been separated immediately by the press of other dancers returning to the dance floor. Now, the scientist was resting his forearms on the railing, leaning forward, breathing the cool night air. Moonlight shone on the small silver clasp adorning the black ribbon holding his dark hair tied back.

"Temple," said the blonde. She came up and stood behind him slightly to the right. The refugee from another time was determined to ask him the question finally, but the words that came out of her mouth were something different. "Nice hair clasp."

"Thanks. It was an anniversary gift from Abby a few years back," replied Connor. She caught a glimpse his lips curling up into a smile at the memory. "That's was when she told me we were going to have Sarah."

Blue eyes blinked. She hadn't expected that response, but then he had a whole lifetime of memories she knew nothing about. Connor continued speaking, still standing with his back towards her.

"It's funny, isn't it," said Connor. "Thinking about time. I used to think about my life before uni and then after uni, then it became..."

"Before dinosaurs and after," said the blonde, but the dark haired man shook his head.

"No, before and after I met Abby," corrected Connor, "then it changed to before and after we had children."

He fell silent then, and the blonde knew he was thinking of... after the world had changed again. She tried to ask her question once more.

"Am I anything like your Abby?" the blonde blurted out.

He didn't even have to think about it.

"Yes, so yes," breathed Connor.

Connor pushed off from the railing and turned to face her.

"You are so Abby Maitland," continued Connor with a rush of words, "sometimes, and then other times you are absolutely different."

He flushed and excused himself quickly, reentering the building before she could respond.

"But I've never been Abby Maitland," whispered the blonde as she watched the dark haired dancer disappear through the crowded room.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Becker was standing with Connor when the blonde reentered the ballroom. The soldier watched as she tapped a man on the shoulder. As the fast song began, she and the unknown man went out on to the dance floor. Beside Becker, the scientist signaled the barman for a pint.

"I thought Jenny said you should bring someone," stated Becker. "Why didn't you bring Carol?"

His sister's friend, a smart chemistry teacher with two young daughters, had seemed to be a good match for Connor.

"It just wasn't working," replied Connor. He lifted the pint glass and took a sip.

Becker raised one eyebrow and reached for his own glass. Casual drinks together over music during summer holiday had been something he and his sister had worked very hard to arrange. Both siblings had been delighted when their lonely friends seemed to hit it off. A dinner date, followed by a theater date, seemed to be the start of something, but then nothing.

"My sister said Carol really must like you," continued the soldier. He had promised to find out what happened. "Carol doesn't usually go for most of the blokes asking her out. I thought you two had a lot in common."

"Carol's lovely, really," said Connor, "but…"

"But what?" asked Becker. He glanced across the dance floor as the song changed. The blonde began dancing with another person. "Did it have anything to do with Jack and Maitland?"

"What? No," replied Connor. "Carol is just not the right person, a bit aggressive… she's got this thing about rings… not quite sure we have the same parenting styles… and…"

"I thought you liked strong women," said Becker.

"What?"

"You said Carol was aggressive," reminded Becker, "but Abby was strong, brave, assertive…"

"Aggressive and assertive aren't the same thing," objected the slender man. "Really, two different character traits entirely…"

The babbling scientist turned towards the soldier. Becker could tell by the way Connor's eyes continued to move, staring at the dance floor, that the scientist had seen the blonde.

"And she's not Abby," ended Connor.

The brilliant scientist took a deep gulp of his pint and signaled the barman again. Becker just wished he knew which woman Connor was talking about, Carol or Maitland.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Sometime later, Lester cut in on the newest man dancing with the blonde. They changed partners and the man danced Jenny away, while Lester took the blonde in hand.

"It seems as if you're enjoying the dancing," said Lester as they slowly twirled across the floor. The bureaucrat's green eyes seemed somewhat distant as they gazed at her.

"It's a wedding, time to celebrate," replied the blonde with a bright smile. "Don't you enjoy dancing?"

Lester turned his head and glanced across the ballroom toward his wife. His once brown hair was now streaked with more silver than brown.

"One must observe certain social obligations," replied Lester stiffly, "but there are times when I quite enjoy dancing."

A few more steps and they were beside Mrs. Lester and Michael. Lester reached across and tapped Jenny's new husband on the shoulder.

"Do you mind if we change partners?" asked Lester.

Lester and his wife swirled gracefully away. The blonde heard a snippet of the Lester's conversation.

"Oh James, really?"

"Yes Camille, really," stated Lester.

The woman's throaty laughter followed. The blonde was amazed at the changed expression on Lester's face. Green eyes sparkled and Lester was actually was smiling.

"Are you having a good time?" asked Michael as the groom and the blonde danced in the opposite direction.

"Of course," insisted the blonde. She forced her smile a little wider to emphasize her words.

Another few dance steps, and Jenny was tapping the blonde on the shoulder.

"Do you mind if I cut in?" laughed Jenny. "I do need to tell Michael about the rumor Danny has started."

The public relations professional and her new husband swirled away leaving the blonde standing by herself. She glanced around the room, but the one person she was looking for wasn't there.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Across the room, Sarah reached her hand towards Danny's much larger one. She traced the creases in his palm, causing him to pull back as her movement tickled him.

"We should be going," reminded Sarah gently. "Go see if she wants a ride, before she starts dancing again."

Danny nodded and pushed himself back from the table. He returned a few minutes later, followed by the blonde. After a long dark drive, they dropped the blonde off at her flat. Sarah pulled out of the car park and turned the vehicle towards home.

"Trouble asked me when Connor left," remarked Danny.

Sarah stopped at the corner and looked at Danny.

"Connor or Temple?" asked Sarah with a small sigh. "Do you really think that means anything?"

"Yeah," replied the red head with a smile. "It means she noticed Connor was gone."

"You're imagining things Danny," replied Sarah. "It means she didn't notice when he was there."

"You don't really believe that now," asked Danny, "do you?"

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Everything was weird between Connor and the woman after Jenny and Michael's wedding. Or maybe just weirder.

"Oi Trouble," called Danny. The former copper had tracked the blonde to the menagerie. "What's wrong with you and Connor?"

"There is no me and Connor in this timeline," hissed the blonde in a venomous tone.

"I thought you two were friends," objected Danny. "Couldn't miss it at Lester's meeting this morning. You're not even talking to each other."

She glared even more fiercely, causing Danny to take an involuntary step backwards.

"Temple doesn't even know who I am."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Jess's conversation with the blonde after she returned to yoga class the following week went somewhat better.

"Missed you last Tuesday," greeted Jess.

"Had a lot on my mind last week," responded the refugee from another time, "I wasn't in the mood for yoga."

Becker had told Jess some of what he'd seen at work since Jenny's wedding, but Jess knew what she had seen that night.

"You and Connor were great dancing together," complimented Jess, "and I know I saw you two talking together. It seemed like you really enjoyed each other's company."

The blonde just shrugged and continued rolling up her mat.

"Hil said things seem weird between you two at work," Jess continued determinedly. "What's wrong?"

The blonde's rambling description of her conversation on the balcony with Connor was somewhat confusing to Jess.

"So you're angry because Connor thinks you're like Abby?" asked Jess. There was no way that could be a bad thing. "Isn't that a good thing?"

"Yes, no, it's just, he said I was different and then he ran out," sighed the blonde. She reached a hand up and pushed back the short white blonde hair from her eyes. "I was a bride for such a short time, I barely know how to be Abby Temple, and certainly not his Abby Temple. They had ten years or more of different memories. I don't have those memories."

"Marriage does change things in a relationship," agreed Jess. The field coordinator hoped she was on the right track. "And parenthood changes things even more, even little things like takeaway Tuesday's.

"What?" asked the blonde.

Jess smiled and explained.

"Our date night, just Hil and me, was Tuesday," said Jess, "but Georgie was born on a Tuesday, so of course we missed having a takeaway that night... and then the next week... We wound up getting takeaway on Wednesday night. Sometimes things change."

"I don't know how to compete with Abby Maitland or Abby the mother," sighed the blonde. "I've never been that tough."

Jess smiled brightly, trying very hard not to let her blinking eyes betray the sudden emotion she felt. She remembered her best friend Abby, tough and tender both. And her new friend was just as strong, just as loving.

"You're stronger than you think, and you can be tough if you have to," encouraged Jess. "Just talk to him."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

But Connor wasn't at work the next day. The woman looked at the back up coordinator sitting at the ADD in surprise.

"Where's Temple?"

"He won't be in today, and probably not the rest of the week," explained Becker. The soldier had been reviewing security sweeps with the back up technician. Becker quit looking at the monitor and turned to face the blonde. "It's, you know, the anniversary of the accident..."

"Oh God," said the blonde. She closed her blue eyes and had a flashback to a tree and a fall. She shuddered and leaned back against the wall, suddenly pale.

"Are you alright?" asked Becker.

"Just a memory," replied the blonde.

The woman had accused the soldier of not understanding, but in truth, Becker understood all too well. The Captain was trained to recognize signs of post-traumatic stress disorder. He knew survivor guilt when he saw it, perhaps better than the ARC's staff psychologist.

"Our Connor would risk his life for Abby without hesitating," said Becker quietly. He moved towards her and grasped her arm. Propelling her towards the empty corridor, he continued speaking. "I imagine your Connor was like that too."

"Yeah," replied the refugee from another timeline.

"And Abby was fierce if something threatened Connor," continued Becker, "there was no holding her back…"

"Why are you telling me this Becker?"

"Because I shouldn't have blamed you when Connor dumped Carol," answered the soldier.

The woman didn't have a chance to respond as the soldier continued talking.

"I just wanted to protect him…" added Becker.

"Protect him? From what?" demanded the blonde.

"From memories," said Becker. "I don't think he's quite forgiven himself for not jumping down there and pushing Abby out of the way."

"Temple blames himself?"

"He shouldn't. I saw the security tapes of the accident," responded the soldier. He remembered how quickly everything had happened, the fall, Abby trying to stand, a flash of light as the train's shining headlights entered the station, followed by the train. "Connor couldn't have saved Abby. There wasn't enough time. The train would have killed both of them if he had tried."

Becker hesitated for a moment before continuing.

"And you shouldn't blame yourself either," said the soldier gently, "for what happened in the cretaceous."

"It was an accident," quavered the blonde. Her chin trembled.

"Yes, it was," agreed Becker, "and you have to believe that too."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Jack confronted Connor in the kitchen. Tommy was upstairs taking his afternoon nap. Little Sarah wouldn't be home from school for another hour, it might be the only chance the sandy haired man had to talk to the scientist uninterrupted.

"It's been a year, since..." started Jack. Connor looked up from the tea he was aimlessly stirring.

"I know what day it is Jack," interrupted Connor. Tea sloshed over the rim of his mug onto the surface of the table.

Jack hesitated a moment and then heedlessly rushed on. When the sandy haired man had first moved in, Jack had thought he could convince Connor to do something, rewrite the timeline, anything to get Abby back. Jack remembered that argument in this same kitchen as if it were yesterday.

_"Connor," shouted Jack, "You've got to do something, this is Abby we're talking about!"_

_"I can't," cried Connor._

_"You spend a lot of time locking anomalies," objected Jack. He slammed his fist on the table. "I know you can open anomalies too."_

_Somehow, Jack had heard about that machine Connor had made years ago._

_"You could rebuild the anomaly opening device," continued Jack. "Why don't you do that? Just open up an anomaly and go get Abby back?"_

_"Do you even know what you're asking me to do?" asked Connor. His face scrunched up miserably, his dark eyes glistened. _

_"Save my sister!"_

_"Do you remember convergence? Do you remember? Dinosaurs in the streets? Electroshock waves all over London?" asked Connor. "A manmade anomaly nearly destroyed this whole planet."_

_Jack knew part of Connor's work was to prevent people going through those strange glowing lights like Jack had done once before, and keep creatures from coming in to London, but Jack really didn't know anything else about Connor's work. _

_"So don't destroy the planet, just save your wife," retorted Jack._

_"I've thought about it a million times," gulped Connor, "but the device doesn't work like that."_

_The scientist sagged back against the table, his face pale. _

_"To use the manmade anomaly opening device goes against nature, it's dangerous," continued Connor. __"But even if I did rebuild the machine, it wasn't specific to date, time or location. It wouldn't work to open an anomaly when and where I wanted it to." _

_"Is there any other way?" asked Jack pressing on determinedly. "What about that gadget that took you to the cretaceous? It didn't cause any natural disasters."_

_"I wish," said Connor. He rubbed a hand across his face. "You don't know how often I've thought about it."_

_"Then why don't you…"_

_"That anomaly opening device was different. It had a map, and could be used to find and open natural anomalies, but I didn't make it and I don't know how it works," explained Connor. "The last one I saw like that was swallowed by a spinosaurus."_

_As Jack had stared at his brother-in-law's sorrowful face, a new idea occurred to the sandy haired man. It dawned on Jack that as much as he wanted Abby back, Connor wanted Abby back more. _

But now, all Jack wanted was to help his sister's family. In Jack's mind it was an attempt at making up for all the times he hadn't been there for Abby.

"Believe me Connor," said Jack as he reached for the kitchen towel and began blotting up the wet mess, "you can't live on memories."

"Yeah, so everybody keeps telling me," replied Connor.

"You need to find someone to love," said Jack as he moved towards the sink.

"In my own time," started Connor.

"No, in this time, the here and now," objected Jack. "You can't spend the rest of your life pining away for Abby."

"You don't know anything Jack," snapped Connor.

"I know real people can't compete with a memory," said Jack. "And if you don't do something, you're going to lose her again."

The echo of the words _"do something"_ sounded in the kitchen.

"What are you talking about Jack?"

-x-x-x-x-x-x


	14. Something

Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me. This is fan fiction, not for profit.

Any references to people, places, businesses, etc. are entirely fictitious.

Something?

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Monday back at the ARC, the leading temporal expert on the planet went looking for the foremost authority on dinosaur care. Connor didn't agree with Jack's assessment of the situation, but the scientist did agree that he should talk to the woman. Connor found Cerys in the menagerie. The blonde was holding Rex, feeding the little green lizard tiny bites of mango.

"Things are weird," blurted out Connor, "but I know you're not Abby Maitland or my wife Abby."

The blonde looked up from brushing the mammoth's hide.

"Everything is just different," continued the dark haired man, "you know."

"Yeah, everything's different."

"We can still talk to each other. We're still friends," reminded Connor. "That hasn't changed, right?"

The blonde inhaled sharply and turned away from the scientist. Being friends wasn't exactly what she wanted, but it was better than arguing or pretending they didn't know each other.

"Yeah, Temple, we're still friends."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Saturday, the blonde was waiting at the gym for Jack to show up for kickboxing, but Connor arrived instead. The scientist was dressed in loose fitting gym clothes and trainers.

"Jack, he uh… sprained his arm somehow," stammered Connor. "He offered to stay home with Sarah and Tommy, sent me instead… thought you would be disappointed to miss out on your practice… said I should come, but if you don't want to… we don't have to… really… it's up to you…"

The embarrassed babbling was so familiar. She turned to hide her laughter.

"Grab some wraps," ordered the blonde. "I don't want you getting injured."

The scientist padded his arms and then moved to follow his sparring partner to the mats.

"Are you any good?" asked the petite woman.

A sudden high kick followed her question. Connor blocked it with his arm and responded with sweeping low kick that knocked the blonde backwards. She reached for Connor's arm. The fall pulled him down on top of her.

"I was trained by the best," remembered Connor.

The dark haired man flushed. The blonde remembered his body's involuntary reaction the last time they had been in a similar position. She couldn't tell if the same thing had happened now or if he was blushing for some other reason. Connor rolled quickly off the blonde. He scrambled to a stand and extended a hand towards her. She clambered up to her feet.

"Well I'm better," replied the blonde with a smirk. "Knocking me down then was just a fluke, I can take you any time I want."

Connor's dark eyes flew open wide and he started to cough. Or maybe he was choking. The blonde didn't understand his reaction, but she began to pound him on the back.

"Temple," hissed the blonde, "don't you dare die on me now."

"Just a little..." gasped Connor, "a little tickle in me throat."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

After they finished sparring practice, the blonde walked back with him to Connor's home. Leaves were falling from the trees and crunched beneath their feet as they cut through the park. They hurried in the crisp fall air.

"Just, please excuse the mess," said the scientist as they reached his home.

"Connor," laughed the blonde, "I've seen your home before, no excuses needed I'm sure."

Connor gulped. When she had visited for the Saturday barbecue, the children had been playing outside. Her Friday visit had been after the children were asleep and the place picked up.

"You've never been here when the children were playing inside," reminded Connor.

"It couldn't be worse than having Sid and Nancy running around trying to chew on everything," smirked the blonde. "Could it?"

The genius had no idea how to answer her question. Connor opened the green door to let the blonde enter first. She stepped inside to hear the sound of children's laughter. The front room that had looked somewhat familiar to the blonde on her last visit now looked utterly alien.

"Daddy!" squealed the little girl. "Help us, we're battling Jabba the Hutt."

The child wore a white bathrobe over her play clothes and carried an empty cardboard cylinder. The cylinder might have held wrapping paper or paper towels at one time. The one year old beside her had a plastic bowl on his head as a helmet and carried another cardboard cylinder. The children appeared to be beating a rounded blanket covered mound on the sofa. An arm reached up and waved.

"Help me," called Jack, "I'm Jabba."

Connor unwound the green blanket covering his brother-in-law. The children were now gathered around the woman sitting on the floor by the toy basket. Tommy was trying to put the plastic bowl over her white blonde hair.

"Jack," said Connor, "Cerys wanted to see how you were doing. She was concerned about your sprained arm."

Connor frowned in confusion as the rest of Jack's upper body came into view. The arm that now appeared wasn't wrapped. Jack seemed fine.

"I thought you said you sprained your right arm," said the scientist.

"My other right," replied Jack with a cheeky grin.

"You mean the arm you were just waving?" asked Connor.

But Jack didn't answer. He turned towards the woman seated on the floor.

"Hey Sis, do you want to stay for dinner?"

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Jack and the blonde did the washing up after dinner while Connor got the children ready for bed.

"That curry you whipped up was really great," complimented Jack.

The blonde had offered to cook dinner. Whether it was a ploy to get away from Star Wars role playing or she truly enjoyed cooking as she had said, Jack didn't know.

"Try not to sound so surprised," smirked the woman.

"My sister didn't cook much when she was your age, mostly just made tea, sometimes boiled potatoes and carrots," replied Jack with a chuckle. "Abby and Connor took a couples cooking class together after they got married."

The blonde reached for a glass and began to dry it off.

"Really?" she asked. "Where?"

"Someplace down by Central Metropolitan University," replied Jack.

"Do you mean Mr. Walter's class?" asked the blonde. She turned to Jack excitedly. "Cooking For All Thyme?"

"Maybe," replied Jack.

"That's where we first met," confided the petite woman.

Jack stared in confusion at the woman he'd come to regard as his baby sister. Abby hadn't gone to the costly London university but to a smaller local university near their home town south of London. A work study program placed Abby in a position at the Wellington Zoo. He didn't exactly know when Abby had first met Connor, but was sure it was later.

"When did you and your Connor meet?" asked Jack.

"My sophomore year at uni, his senior year," sighed the blonde with a happy smile. "Love at first sight."

"Really?" said Jack in surprise.

One more thing to add to the different list, but then Jack smiled. He remembered Abby's first couple of boyfriends with distaste. Jack was glad to know that in some other universe there were a couple of jerks who never got a chance to date his sister.

"When did your sister and Temple meet?" asked the blonde. The question snapped Jack out of his reverie.

"You should ask Connor," replied Jack. "I wasn't around much back then."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Connor inserted the DVD into the machine. The monitor lit up and the movie credits began to roll across the screen.

The blonde was sitting on the sofa, a bowl of popcorn was waiting on the low table in front of her.

"Jack," called Connor. "Hurry up, we're ready to start the movie."

Footsteps came down the stairs. Jack appeared, but he was now dressed in black slacks and a button down shirt. His sandy hair was slicked back.

"Sorry," replied Jack. He held up his cell phone. "It's Saturday night, I'm going out. Unlike you two, I've got a hot date."

In a flurry of motion, the sandy haired man departed, before Connor could say anything more. He turned toward the blonde.

"Saturday nights are different for parents," remarked Connor. "You don't have to stay and watch the movie... if you'd rather go out."

The blonde made a show of stretching and yawning.

"No, it's been a busy week at work Temple, I'm happy right here," insisted the blonde, "I want to watch this second Wall-E movie you told me about."

She reached for the bowl in front of her, "But you're making the next batch of popcorn."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Jack returned home after midnight. There had been no date. Jack had spent the evening playing darts at the local pub in hopes of giving two people some time to watch a movie, or talk, or something. He entered the Temple home to see the end credits of the movie frozen on a scene of two robots holding hands beneath a tree. Laughter sounded from the kitchen. Jack quietly moved forward. The kitchen was a mess. Pots, spoons, flour, butter, an open egg carton and a container of milk were scattered across the counters. Connor and the blonde were sitting at the table with what looked to be a pudding in front of them.

"My favorite part in the first Wall-E was where the robots were dancing," said the blonde.

She lifted up a spoonful of the pudding and took a bite. She closed her eyes.

"Mmmm, this is so much better than popcorn," sighed the blonde. "I do believe this is the best hasty pudding ever."

Connor heard Jack then and turned his head.

"You're back," greeted the scientist. "Great, I was beginning to think you were going to stay out all night."

Brilliant idea. Jack wished he had thought of it, but he was happy enough with the way this Saturday had turned out. Jack remembered Abby telling him once that it was the little things in life that were important. Jack hadn't appreciated how true that was at the time.

"Will you watch Sarah and Tommy while I drive Cerys home?" asked Connor. The scientist pushed his chair back and moved to stand.

"Sure," agreed Jack as he stepped forward into the kitchen. It had been a really great day, but Jack was always the type of person to push his luck. "We should do this again, I didn't get any pudding."

And just like that Saturday movie night started. That was a little something. Right?

-x-x-x-x-x-x

The last Friday in October, the blonde brought ice cream to Jess and Becker's home. There was a party planned, even if Connor said he didn't want to be reminded of his thirty-ninth birthday.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Jess returned to work in late November. The vivacious woman and her colorful orange and yellow dress lit up the hub. Even Lester smiled to see her return.

"Welcome back young lady," greeted Lester.

"Don't call me that," objected Jess.

"What?"

"Young lady," replied Jess.

The field coordinator put her hands on her hips and smirked.

"I'm not the youngest team member anymore. Cerys is only twenty seven," reminded Jess with a smirk. "I turned thirty this past May."

"Both of you, children really," huffed the director, but he was smiling. The director didn't call either Mrs. Becker or Miss Maitland young lady after that. It might be a harassment issue.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Connor insisted he be allowed to rejoin the field team.

"The field team has been shorthanded for ages," reminded Connor, "you said so yourself."

The argument lasted almost an entire week. Connor insisted over Lester's repeated protests that he needed to take onsite anomaly readings to provide the detailed information needed for Sarah's special project.

"The electromagnetic frequencies fluctuate..." began Connor for the umpteenth time.

"Fine," agreed Lester grudgingly.

The sharp nosed bureaucrat stalked into his office.

"But remember Becker's in charge of security," added Lester as he shut the office door with a resounding thud. "Do whatever he says and don't go getting yourself killed."

-x-x-x-x-x-x


	15. And Falling… In Love Again

Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me. This is fan fiction, not for profit.

Any references to people, places, businesses, etc. are entirely fictitious.

And Falling… In Love Again

-x-x-x-x-x-x

The first Saturday in December, the blonde didn't come to Saturday movie night. The ARCs holiday party was held that night. Jenny and Michael made a special announcement after dinner. Danny got quite a bit of teasing for having predicted their good news.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

After the movie ended on the third Saturday in December, Connor invited the displaced time traveler to come over on Tuesday evening.

"That's Christmas Eve," said the herpetologist.

"Yeah," agreed Connor.

"Aren't you going to your parent's for the holiday?"

"No, that's Boxing Day. We have a Christmas Tree trimming party here on Christmas Eve,"

The dark haired scientist appeared to be intent on putting the DVD in its case, but his fingers fumbled the disc. He dropped the shiny round DVD. It rolled across the floor towards the sofa where the woman still sat. Connor chased after the disc and knelt to pick it up.

"Please come," added Connor in a rush of words, "and if you like, come to Christmas dinner the next day too."

The woman had been dreading the holidays alone, but she wasn't going to tell Connor that.

"I'd love to help with the tree on Tuesday," said the blue eyed woman, "but I've already got plans for Christmas Day."

"Right," said Connor. His jaw clenched as he moved to stand up. "We'll be glad to see you on Tuesday then."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Sarah was laughing as she opened the green door to let the blonde inside when the woman arrived Tuesday evening. Connor and Becker were struggling to get the tree in the stand. Danny was standing near them in the front room with his arms folded across his chest, giving directions, but not really helping. Jack was trying to untangle Christmas lights.

"What have you brought?" asked Sarah as she took the foil covered tray from the blonde.

The woman hung up her coat on the hall tree and took the tray back.

"Pasties," replied the blonde. "I should put these in the oven to heat up."

"The eggnog is almost ready," called Jess from the kitchen.

"We should go join Jess in the kitchen," said Sarah with a conspiratorial wink. "It's not safe to be anywhere near the tree until Connor brings out the ornament box."

More people arrived as the evening progressed. The crowd of people pressed into the home seemed to be more than the house could possibly hold. At one point, little Tommy pulled on the woman's leg and pointed. She lifted him up so that he could place the red ball ornament he held in his chubby hands on the tree branch. The woman got ready to leave shortly before midnight. Connor walked her to the door. She looked, but there was no sign of mistletoe.

"Merry Christmas," they both said at the door.

Connor opened the door.

"If you change your mind," added Connor, "you're welcome to come to Christmas dinner."

"Thanks Temple," replied the blonde, "but someone's got to stay in the menagerie."

The genius looked confused for a minute, then Connor finally figured out her plans for Christmas day.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

The field coordinator from the outpost at the Forest of Dean called on a mild wet January day.

"The anomaly detector has been flickering all morning," complained the man.

"I don't know what you think you're looking at," replied Jess. "The main detector isn't picking up anything here in London."

"We should probably check it out," suggested Matt. "It might be picking up a minor local fluctuation."

Jess swiped her hand across the monitor. The ARC's calendar appeared.

"Fine, but we're shorthanded with Danny in Dublin this week checking out Sarah's project," the field coordinator reminded. "We can't send a full team. The General's tour and weapons demonstration is today."

"Okay, Becker and the security detail need to be here to deal with the General," replied Matt. "The anomaly detector is most likely just a tech problem. It's not like it's an active anomaly. I'll take just Connor and Maitland."

"No," replied Jess. "I'd rather explain to the General why you're evaluating his new EMDs, than explain to Lester why Hil isn't teamed up with Connor. You know how Lester is about health and safety."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Becker was the first to reach the car park. The SUV started up as the woman appeared in the car park.

"Maitland," called Becker. "Where is Connor? Get him in the car and let's go. I'd like to be back in time for lunch."

The blonde smirked, and she turned back around intending to find Connor. She nearly ran into him as the scientist came through the door in front of her.

"Temple," said the blonde, "let's go join Becker, yeah."

"Take this please," asked Connor. He handed her a backpack and then reached to pull a black jacket over his red hooded sweatshirt as he walked.

A slight drizzle accompanied the drive to the Forest of Dean. The swish of wipers on the front glass soon had the blonde leaning sideways. The cold glass of the side window made her uncomfortable. She zipped up her warm green jacket and closed her eyes trying to lean back straight in the passenger seat. Sometime later she blinked her eyes to find Becker grinning and shaking her.

"Wake up," said the soldier. He reached out a hand and tugged her up off Connor. She flushed as she realized that she had been sleeping with her head on Connor's chest.

"Sorry," said the blonde. Connor flushed too.

"Don't be," smirked Becker, "he was sleeping and snoring."

"I don't snore," protested Connor.

Inside, the outpost coordinator showed Connor the ADD. It was an older model, without the range of the main ADD in London.

"All the diagnostics look fine," said Connor. He pointed to the map on the monitor. "We should go take the handhelds and do a search in this area. Just to be sure."

"What's over there?" asked Becker.

"Old growth oaks, wooded trail paths, some scrub brush and a big field," replied the outpost coordinator.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

The drizzle had stopped by the time Connor, Becker, and the woman reached the field. Connor opened up the backpack and pulled out a handheld device. The smaller device buzzed. It was picking up something. Connor held the device up high, the antenna soaring upwards, straining to pick up the signal.

"Guys," asked the woman, "look over there."

Connor and Becker turned to look in the direction she was pointing. In the distance a glowing ball spun opened on the far side of the field.

"Anomaly!" confirmed Connor.

Becker spoke into his com device. The soldier explained the situation and requested back up.

"Creature incursion," added Bekcer as a huge herd beast ran through the opening. The first creature was soon followed by more. The ground shook with the weight of their arrival. "Make that a whole lot of creatures, big ones, moving fast."

"Uh oh," said Connor. The rest of the herd was coming through the opening and the lead bull was still running in their direction.

"What is it?" asked the blonde.

Connor looked at her in surprise.

"Embolotherium," replied the scientist, "like the ones we saw years ago at the campground. In fact, look at the tarp stuck to that one's foot. I think it might be the same anomaly. They had to come out somewhere."

The woman shook her head.

"Connor in her timeline she never went to that anomaly," reminded the soldier. "They went straight to the cretaceous from the first race track anomaly."

"I've never seen anything like those creatures," continued the blonde, "are they dangerous?"

"Only if they step on you," replied Connor. "Run!"

Becker's long legs brought him to the huge oak tree by the side of the field first. He scrambled up into the first layer of branches. Connor leapt up and caught a branch. The soldier grabbed the back of the scientist's black jacket and helped pull Connor up. The two men turned and reached hands down to grab the tiny woman.

"We should get higher," urged Connor.

"Guys, I've got a bad feeling about this," replied the woman as they started moving upwards between the slippery wet branches.

"We're not in the cretaceous, and it's not that tree," reminded Becker as he helped her climb higher. He gave her a cocky grin. "And you're safe with me."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

The three humans in the tree watched as the herd of embolotherium began to graze on the vegetation in the field. They were safe in their perch. A gentle wind blew through the tree branches as they enjoyed the sight of the majestic beasts. But then back up, in the form of a military helicopter, arrived. The herd was startled to say the least.

"Get that copter out of here," yelled Becker into the radio com. He listened. "Matt? What are you doing in the helicopter?"

The soldier listened again.

"No, I don't care what kind of new tranquilizer gun the General has or how much you like it," insisted Becker "We don't want him shooting it..."

The sound of a high powered military rifle joined in with the thumpety thump of the helicopter rotors, interrupting the black clad military man.

"...around here," finished Becker.

The bull snorted in rage. Even from their distance, a large red plumed dart was visible on the creatures hindquarters. The milling beasts panicked. The bull roared and began to run. With the sky full of strange noises, the creature decided it needed a hiding place and the wide open spaces of the field suddenly weren't good enough. The embolotherium ran straight for the trees. The bull crashed beneath the base of the oak tree shaking the three people clinging desperately to the branches. The creature reared back and roared in anger.

"He's going to try to knock the tree down," said Becker.

"There should be stun grenades in my backpack," said Connor. He reached for the straps.

"No!" cried the blonde. She turned frightened eyes towards the scientist. The raw emotion burning in her face stunned Connor. "Don't let go!"

"Don't worry," soothed Connor. He said almost the same words that Becker had used. "It's not the same tree."

Below him, the creature roared back, and smashed into the tree trunk again.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

In an instant Connor's world changed.

The dark haired man's grip on the wet tree branch slipped.

"Augh!"

Becker snatched at the scientist. For a brief moment, the soldier held Connor by the scruff of his jacket. Then the jacket ripped. Becker was left holding a handful of collar, and Connor fell too quickly to even cry out.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

The woman saw Connor fall. And in an instant, his life flashed before her eyes.

"Connor!"

-x-x-x-x-x-x

On the ground below, the embolotherium reared back once more as the medication from the tranquilizer dart finally began to kick in and held for a moment on its hind legs. Then it fell back, away from the tree and the man lying on the ground below. The frightened herd continued running down the length of the field trying to hide from the threat in the air. The two humans clinging to the branches of the oak began a frantic scramble down. Becker reached Connor first. The soldier's hand reached to check for a pulse on Connor's neck.

"Don't move his head!" exclaimed the blonde before she dropped the last few feet from the tree branch to the ground.

"He's alive," whispered Becker gratefully.

The blonde knelt on the ground beside the soldier and reached out to trace a finger down the side of Connor's face. She looked up at Becker and beyond him to the huge body of the embolotherium.

"Matt won't be able to see us down here," said the woman, "not hidden behind that creature. You should go…"

"No," protested Becker, "I'm not going to leave you here alone! That thing could wake up."

"Go," insisted the blue eyed woman. "Find someone to help, and bring them back."

'Right," said Becker. "I'll be back, I promise."

"Promise," whispered the woman, but she wasn't watching Becker as he moved past the downed creature and disappeared.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

It seemed way too long before the woman saw the slightest bit of movement from the body lying on the ground before her.

"Ohh," Connor moaned.

His dark eyes blinked and his head rolled to one side. The scientist froze when he saw the woman watching him, but then he remembered what he had heard.

"You said something," began the injured man, "when I was falling..."

"Don't remember," she replied untruthfully.

"Oh," sighed Connor. He rolled his head to the other side and the pain caused him to moan again. "Oooh."

"Connor!"

Dark brown eyes turned to gaze at frightened blue eyes.

"Don't you dare die on me again Connor," hissed the blonde.

"You called me Connor," murmured the dark haired scientist. "I thought that's what I heard. And now you've done it again. Twice. No three times."

His lips curled up in a small smile.

"Yeah," sighed the blonde as she leaned back against the trunk of the tree. A gentle wind blew beneath the tree, ruffling her white blonde hair. "I guess I did."

He stretched out his hand across the ground towards her.

"You don't normally call me Connor."

"There isn't anything normal in this life Connor," replied the blonde as she took his fingers.

Connor looked at their entwined fingers. He reached a smidgen further and grasped her entire hand within his. She sighed and leaned forward. Picking up his hand with both of hers she brought it up to meet her lips.

"I'm not your Connor," reminded Connor. "I'm at least ten years older, an old married man with kiddies… you said so yourself, remember?"

"I know," replied the woman.

She blinked her blue eyes quickly so as not to have tears begin.

"But you're still Connor," whispered the blonde, "and that's all that really matters."

"Well love," replied Connor, "I think I can live with that."

And somewhere between laughter and tears, two pairs of lips found each other and shared a kiss. A kiss of love and passion. A kiss that was anything but normal. Extraordinary.

-x-x-x-x-x-x


	16. Another Beginning

Disclaimer: Primeval does not belong to me. This is fan fiction, not for profit.

Any references to people, places, businesses, etc. are entirely fictitious.

Another Beginning

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Becker and Matt returned with emergency staff and a gurney. The medical professionals insisted that Connor be strapped to a back board and carried out of the woods, but they didn't even try to argue when the blonde said she was riding in the ambulance with Connor. The ambulance crew had a very well developed instinct for self-preservation.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

The doctor, who was a very thorough woman, insisted on an x-ray, an MRI, blood tests, urine samples and a few other tests that neither Connor nor Cerys ever remembered. Preliminary x-rays showed nothing broken, but the doctor requisitioned crutches for Connor.

"Don't put any weight on that ankle for at least two weeks, maybe longer," insisted the doctor. "And keep your ankle elevated when you sit."

Six hours and thirty-seven minutes after they arrived at the hospital, Connor was released. Backer drove them back to London. It was getting dark and he pulled the SUV up in front of Connor's home. Cerys hopped out of the SUV and ran around the vehicle to open Connor's door before the soldier got his seatbelt undone.

"Come on now," coaxed the blonde, "lean on me."

Jack had the front door open before they reached the entrance. Becker and Cerys got the injured man into the home.

"Da da da da," called Tommy. The baby peeked over the edge of the baby gate separating the front room from the hallway. Behind him little Sarah regarded her father with serious dark brown eyes.

"Daddy," asked Sarah, "what's wrong?"

Connor started to answer his daughter, but Jack bumped into his injured leg. "Augh!"

"Your Daddy hurt his leg," explained Cerys, "and we need to get him to lie down."

"Over there," suggested Becker. The soldier pointed to the living room sofa.

Becker and Cerys started to move Connor towards the room scattered with playthings.

"Jack, a little help here," said Becker. He gestured at the baby gate blocking the entrance.

"No, I won't be able to get Connor up the stairs by myself," replied Jack. "The bathroom is upstairs. We need to get Connor to his room."

"No," spluttered Connor. "I can't stay in bed with my foot propped up. I need to be where I can watch the children."

"I'll stay to help," volunteered Cerys. "Together Jack and I can get Connor up and down the stairs."

"But, but..." stammered Connor. His dark eyes glanced towards the children.

"Sis, there aren't enough places to sleep," explained Jack. He jerked his head towards the watching little ones. "You can't just move in."

"I wasn't planning on moving in," responded the blonde sharply. "I'm just offering to help out for a bit is all, a week, ten days tops."

"But, but..." spluttered Jack.

"Jack, I'll take your room," said Cerys with a bright smile, "you sleep on the sofa."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

When Connor was settled on the sofa, a small hand tugged on the side of the blonde's cargo pants.

"Is Daddy going to be all right?" asked little Sarah.

"Yes," insisted Cerys forcefully, "your Daddy is going to be just fine. You and I are going to make sure of that."

The blonde extended her hand towards the small girl.

"Let's get an ice pack for his ankle," said Cerys with a bright smile.

x-x-x-x-x-x

Danny returned from Dublin with readings taken near the Balllybrach Dolmen. He laid the report on Lester's desk.

"They seem to fit the pattern, guv," said Danny.

"Well don't give me the report," huffed Lester. "We need Sarah and Connor to analyze this new information."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Connor couldn't drive. Jack's morning routine changed, he wouldn't have been able to sleep in on the sofa anyway. The sandy haired man juggled little Sarah's school car pool arrangements, drove Connor and Cerys to work and lastly took Tommy into child care. The manager of the childcare center stopped Jack at the end of the first week.

"Would you like a job?" asked the woman. "We could use a male role model around here."

"Are you talking to me?" asked Jack in surprise.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Eight days after moving in, Cerys moved out.

"You don't have to leave," protested Connor. "I quite like having you around."

"And it's been wonderful being here," agreed the woman. She shook her head and glanced at the children playing in the front room. Jack had been right when he told her she couldn't just move in. "But you can manage the stairs on your own now and it's too soon…"

"Is it because Tommy…?" began Connor. The scientist made a gesture that reminded Cerys of the sauce staining the white blouse she had been wearing earlier that day.

"Well I do need to do laundry," answered Cerys, "but, mainly I like having my own bathroom."

"You'll be back Saturday?" asked the scientist hopefully. "For movie night?"

"Actually Connor, I asked Jack to babysit on Saturday night," replied the blue eyed woman with a smile. "We can watch the movie at my place."

"What?"

The dark haired man gestured toward the equipment in the living room.

"But I've got a bigger telly," protested Connor.

For a genius, sometimes the man could be just so thick.

"But I've got more privacy," reminded Cerys, "and we don't have to watch a kiddie movie."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

In February, Jack started part time at the child care until Connor could drive again. When Connor's ankle quit bothering him, Jack changed to the early morning shift. A dark haired divorcee named Carol brought her youngest daughter in to childcare his first day on the early morning shift. She looked at Jack.

"I remember you," said Carol with a smile.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Two weeks after Connor returned to work, Lester got the first of the medical bills.

"You're not pregnant," stated Lester as he slapped the laboratory testing bill down on the workstation in front of Connor.

Connor stared at the bill for patient C. A. Temple. The line item for serum pregnancy test clearly stated Results: Not Pregnant. The dark haired scientist finally released a small sigh.

"Shame," said the scientist with a grin. "I would have made a fortune on telly."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

In early March, Sarah attended the ARCs staff meeting. The archeologist presented her findings to Lester and the team. The visual graphic of the world map filled the monitor.

"These blue dots represent probable anomaly activity based on historical records," explained Sarah. "The yellow dots are actual anomalies that we've encountered over the past twelve years. And when you factor in Connor's electromagnetic readings..."

Sarah pushed a button on her keyboard and the display changed.

"There is a link to five major sources of anomaly activities that span centuries," insisted Sarah as she pointed to her charts and graphs. "We've clearly identified the first two. You can almost see the ripple effect."

The first source was the recurring anomaly at the Forest of Dean. The second source was in Dublin.

"I see the image wiggling," Lester grudgingly agreed. "But there have been no anomalies recorded in Dublin."

"Maybe not in our timeline," agreed Danny with a smirk, "but ask Trouble about anomalies in Dublin and you'll get a different story."

"Miss Maitland," asked Lester, "do you know anything about anomalies in Dublin?"

"Yeah," replied Cerys, "in my time, Dublin had loads of anomalies... mostly up by the theatre district. Our public relations people used to tell people that the creatures were just pretend, special effects, you know."

Lester shook his head. He pointed to the larger circles on the map.

"What are these?"

"Geocentric regional anomaly activity hotspots," answered Sarah, "but we haven't been able to pinpoint the source. We really need to go there and look around."

"Do you think the British Museum can spare you for a bit?" asked Lester.

"I've already told them I was leaving," answered Sarah.

"See what you can find out," ordered the director

The bureaucrat worked with French government officials to authorize Sarah and Danny's visit to Provence. Sarah and Danny went to France in late April.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

In May, Connor's parents came to visit and stayed the weekend. Saturday night Cerys came over for dinner and movie night. Connor's mum watched as the blonde sat down on the sofa beside Connor. Cerys snuggled in closely to the dark haired man with an ease that signified familiarity. Little Tommy crawled up on and stretched out across the combined laps of Connor and Cerys, while little Sarah squirmed into her grandmother's lap as the opening credits to _The Neverending Story_ began.

"Are you two, um… uh," asked Connor's mum, "dating?"

Connor and Cerys turned to look at each other wide eyed. Connor opened his mouth to say something, but his daughter rescued him.

"Sssh," hissed the brown eyed girl in a manner reminiscent of her mother. "The movie is starting."

Sunday morning Connor's mum came down to the kitchen early. Connor was already up and starting breakfast.

"We should talk about Cerys," said his mother.

Connor froze in front of the frying pan. His father entered the kitchen then and picked up the tea kettle.

"What about Cerys?" asked Connor.

Behind him, his father turned on the water and began filling the kettle.

"She's too young for you Connor," insisted his mother. "She'll get tired of you when you get older and break your heart in the end."

Connor's father turned off the faucet and turned to face his wife.

"It's a miracle to find love once, and twice is even rarer," disagreed the elder Mr. Temple. "They're both of age. He's happy, she's happy, don't worry about it."

"But, but," spluttered Connor's mum.

"I'm fifteen years older than you," reminded her husband. "And you haven't left me yet. Or was there something you were going to tell me?"

-x-x-x-x-x-x

The first Tuesday in June, the archeologist and the former copper located the source of the third anomaly hotspot in a wooded area near Draguignan. The ancient dolmen looked as if it had been standing in the shady grove since the beginning of time.

"Lester, this proves we're on the right track," insisted Sarah. "We should check out the next location too."

"What?" squawked Lester. "If I remember correctly you said the next location is in Switzerland."

"We could be to Neuchatel in just a few hours."

Whatever Lester's protests were, Sarah couldn't hear.

"You're breaking up Lester," added Sarah. "Shame, I'll try calling again from Switzerland."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Jenny and Michael had a daughter in July.

"I thought you hated that name," said Cerys in surprise. She handed little Claudia Michelle back to Jenny.

"Actually," replied Jenny with a smirk, "I think it's the kind of name that grows on a person."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Over a month later, Danny called Lester with his weekly status update.

"Guv, we're running out of places to check. Maybe it's in the lake," suggested the red head.

"Oh really," replied Lester rolling his eyes, "I suppose that means you want a submersible."

"Yeah! Brilliant!" replied Danny. "I'm sure I could drive it."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

A few weeks later, Cerys Maitland strode determinedly into the hub. Connor was working on his latest technological wonder, and didn't look up at the sound of her approach. She had a few things that she was determined to tell the world's leading temoporal scientist whether he wanted to hear it or not.

"Temple," began Cerys. His head jerked up and the scientist turned to face her.

"What have I done?"

"Connor… you are having a fortieth birthday party," stated Cerys firmly. "Complete with dancing, black balloons, cake and as many noisemakers as I can find."

"But… but…" squawked Connor.

"But what Connor?" asked Cerys.

Connor slouched back in his chair

"People at the club will think I'm a dirty old man," blurted out Connor. The scientist waved his hand towards the petite blonde. "There you are a hot young blonde, and I'm officially over the hill."

Cerys tried to choke down a chuckle, but Connor heard her involuntary laughter.

"It's not funny, people think…"

"People think all sorts of things Connor," interrupted Cerys as she stepped closer to him and put her fingertip to his lips. "What's important is what we think, and feel, about each other."

Connor's big brown eyes were wide open.

"Right?" asked Cerys.

Connor's head bobbed up and down.

"And we love each other no matter what the age difference is, right?" continued Cerys. "You'd love me if I was forty and you were only twenty-eight, right?"

Connor's head bobbed up and down again.

"I always love you," replied Connor.

The blonde smiled.

"Good, then it's settled," replied Cerys. "You and I are going out dancing for your fortieth birthday party Saturday night."

Connor's head bobbed up and down once more. Cerys turned to go.

"Jack's babysitting all the children. Becker, Jess, Matt and Emily will drive with us to the dance club. Jenny and Michael will meet us there," continued Cerys. "And if any rude person says anything to you about being too old for me, you tell them that you love me."

"And are you going to tell them the same thing?" called Connor as Cerys reached the corridor.

The blonde turned her head and looked over her shoulder at Connor. She smirked.

"If anybody asks," replied Cerys, "I'll just tell them you have a really big penis."

Connor flushed.

"You couldn't just say sod off?" asked Connor as she started towards the menagerie. "Could you?"

-x-x-x-x-x-x

The blonde's small efficiency flat was cosy. The basic furniture provided by the landlord, a couple of overstuffed brown chairs, a small wooden table, a bed and matching dresser set was sturdy. Cerys had dressed up the room with colorful orchids, green throw pillows and a leaf patterned comforter. Her cell phone buzzed. She reached a slender hand out from under the covers to pick it up from the table.

"Hey Sis," greeted Jack's voice. "I told you that movie was boring and would put you both to sleep. It's after midnight. Would you send Connor home now so I can go to bed?"

"Um… yeah," murmured the blonde sleepily.

She clicked the cell phone shut, then rolled over and laid her head across Connor's bare chest. The telly sitting on the tall bureau directly across from the big double bed wasn't turned on. She and Connor hadn't bothered watching the movie tonight. She nudged the dark haired man snoring lightly beside her.

"Hmmmph?" mumbled Connor. He blinked his dark brown eyes. "What?"

"Time to go home," said the blonde.

"Home is with you love," murmured Connor sleepily. He closed his eyes again.

The blonde smiled. She had been thinking of asking Connor another question for ages now, but she waited until after he got over the shock of turning forty. Now seemed perfect.

"Temple," began Cerys. She stifled a giggle at the way his eyes opened right up.

"Connor… will you marry me?"

"Yes, so yes," breathed the man.

His dark eyes glowed with happiness again as he pulled her towards him and captured her lips with a gentle kiss, a kiss full of hope and promise.

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Connor was nervous. Telling his children he was getting married again was a big deal and he wanted to do it right. He told his daughter first.

"Princess, I will always love your Mummy, that will never change," said Connor. "But sometimes, people can't be together."

The child rolled her dark brown eyes in a familiar gesture.

"There's all kinds of love," continued her father, "and I love your Auntie too..."

"Daddy, I know," she interrupted with all the worldly experience of a soon to be six year old. "I love pepperoni pizza, Fluffy Bunny, you, Mummy, Tommy and Auntie Cerys, and a whole lot more, and it's all different."

"The love is different, yeah, but sort of the same too," said Connor. He tried once more to explain. "People can't live without love and it's important..."

The little girl put her hands on her hips in a move so like her mother that Connor stopped babbling. He blinked away the sudden moisture in his eyes.

"Cerys and I are going to get married..." started Connor again.

"Like Eddie's parents," interrupted his daughter, naming a school friend. "Eddie has two mummies and two daddies now... or maybe three, I can't remember."

"Yeah," agreed Connor with a cringe, "sort of like Eddie's family."

But then his daughter began asking questions.

"If you get married to Auntie Cerys do I have to call her Mummy?" asked Sarah.

The scientist inhaled sharply. His new fiancée had asked a similar question. Connor spoke softly as he began to answer.

"You don't have to call Cerys..." began Connor, but his daughter interrupted.

"I think it would be weird to call Auntie Cerys Mummy," stated Sarah firmly. She leaned in closer to her father and reminded him, "I'm a big girl now. Would it be alright if I call her Mum?"

Connor blinked his eyes rapidly.

"Yeah, I think Cerys would like that," replied her father, "and I know Mummy wouldn't mind."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Telling Tommy was easier. The toddler understood more words than he actually spoke. The little boy had started calling the blonde "Mwah" at the summer picnic long ago, and still called her that. Of course the word "Mwah" also seemed to mean macaroni and cheese, muffin, and his favorite cartoon on telly. Tommy listened carefully to his father, then smiled. The two year old only had one thing to say about it.

"Wanna biddah, p'ease."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

"We should get a different place," stated Cerys firmly. At Connor's shocked look, she hurried to add, "Your home is lovely, but…"

"Too many other memories," whispered Connor.

"I was going to say horrible old plumbing and only one bathroom," stated the blonde, "plus I think it might be the only way to get Jack to move out."

Connor nodded.

"The home next to Jess and Becker's place went up for sale last week," added Cerys hopefully. "Jess told me it has two bathrooms."

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Sarah and Danny didn't make it to London in time for the wedding. They sent a brief report of their findings in Neuchatel for Lester. Sarah jotted down a line saying the pair were on their way to Lancken-Granitz, Germany and if that didn't have the anomaly information they were looking for, she and Danny would be going to Riga next. The official government correspondence included a card with a picture of a castle near a Swiss lake addressed to Connor and Cerys. Inside the card Sarah's handwriting read:

_May you both live happily ever after. _

Danny's handwriting was scribbled below. The large looping curved letters read:

_And may all your troubles be little ones_.

-x-x-x-x-x-x


End file.
